City Attorney's Office
Court Process
DEFERRED TRAFFIC PROSECUTION AND TRAFFIC PLEA IN ABEYANCE AGREEMENTS
(TRAFFIC SCHOOL)
If you were cited for a traffic violation, you may qualify for “deferred traffic prosecution” through the 2nd District Court or you may qualify for a plea in abeyance agreement through the Layton City Prosecutor’s Office. If you would like to use either of these programs, you must do so before you pay your ticket. Here are the steps you should take to determine your qualifications for either program:
DEFERRED TRAFFIC PROSECUTION
This is a program implemented by the Courts of Utah. To determine if you qualify for deferred prosecution, please visit the link below and follow the described steps.
If you do all the requirements of the Court, your ticket will be dismissed at the end of 12 months. No report of the ticket will be made to the Driver License Division (DLD); thus, no points will be added to your driving record. For further information regarding the DLD point system, please visit: https://dld.utah.gov/utah-point-system/
If you have any questions about deferred traffic prosecution, you may contact the Layton 2nd District Court at (801) 444-4300 or 2ndlaytontraffic@utcourts.gov.
PLEA IN ABEYANCE AGREEMENT
If you do not qualify for "deferred traffic prosecution,"" you may contact the Layton City Prosecutor’s Office to see if you qualify for a plea in abeyance agreement (traffic school), at (801) 336-3590 or legaldept@laytoncity.org.
To qualify for a plea in abeyance through the prosecutor’s office you must:
- Have a clean driving record for the 18 months prior to your citation;
- Not be cited for (1) speeding in a school zone, (2) driving on a suspended or revoked license, (3) operating a vehicle without insurance, or (4) a traffic accident.
If you qualify for a plea in abeyance, you must:
- Sign a plea in abeyance agreement in which you plead guilty or no contest to the charge on your citation before you pay the ticket;
- Pay a plea in abeyance fee, which is the amount of the ticket;
- Attend traffic school* attend within 90 days of entering into the plea in abeyance agreement (further explained below).
- Not have any violations of the law, including additional traffic violations, for the next 12 months.
If you do these three things, your ticket will be dismissed at the end of 12 months. No report of the ticket will be made to the Driver License Division (DLD); thus, no points will be added to your driving record. For further information regarding the DLD point system, please visit: https://dld.utah.gov/utah-point-system/.
Traffic School
- Go to the official Layton City Traffic School registration and payment portal https://www.laytoncityutah.gov/secure1/ServicesPayments/TrafficSchool
- Watch: You must watch the entire instructional video.
- Pass the Quiz: You must successfully pass the short quiz at the end.
- Confirmation: Once the course has been passed, the Legal Department will receive a confirmation email and you will receive credit for attending traffic school.
- You have 30 days from the date you signed your Plea in Abeyance to finish this course.
Criminal Court Process
If you have received a citation for a criminal offense, you must contact the Court within 14 days of the date of your citation . If you fail to do so, a delinquent fee will be assessed and a warrant for your arrest will issue.
If you have received a Summons, you must appear in Court on the date and time the summons orders. If the Summons contains an order that you go to the Davis County jail to be booked and released, you must do this prior to coming to Court. The Jail will record information on the Summons Order and you must bring your Summons to Court with you and turn it in.
Your first court appearance is an Arraignment. At your Arraignment, you will have the opportunity to either plead guilty or not guilty. If you want time to consult with an attorney before entering a plea, you should make that request to the Judge at the Arraignment. If you can’t afford to hire an attorney and if you meet specific financial requirements, at the Arraignment you may ask the Judge to appoint a Public Defender to represent you. This is an attorney appointed for you.
If you plead not guilty, the Court will set an appointment for you to meet with the Prosecutor to talk about your case (a Pre-Trial Conference). Do not call the City Attorney’s Office to discuss your case with the City Prosecutor . Appear at the Pre-trial Conference and you will have ample time to meet privately with the Prosecutor to talk about your case. If you are still unable to resolve the case, the case will be set for a Trial.
If you plead guilty, the Judge will either sentence you immediately or have you come back to Court to be sentenced at a later time.
