If you have received a citation from the Racine County Sheriff’s Department or Wisconsin State Patrol, the court date noted on your citation is the initial appearance date for the citation.

If you wish to contest the citation, you MUST file a not guilty plea prior to the date listed on your citation. You can email this not guilty plea to trcourt@racinecounty.com, or you can mail in a written not guilty plea to:

If you have received a citation from the Racine County Sheriff’s Department or Wisconsin State Patrol, the court date noted on your citation is the initial appearance date for the citation.
If you wish to contest the citation, you must file a not guilty plea prior to the date listed on your citation. You can email this not guilty plea to trcourt@racinecounty.com, or you can mail in a written not guilty plea to:

Racine County Traffic Court
717 Wisconsin Ave
Racine, WI 53403

When you file a not guilty plea, you will receive a new court date to appear and negotiate your citation with the District Attorney’s Office. 

If you appear in court without having first filed a not guilty plea, you will not be seen and will be required to come back to court after filing a plea. 

When you appear in court to negotiate your citation with the Racine County District Attorney’s Office, you will sign a stipulation resolving the citation.

PLEASE BE ADVISED, the court session will last 1-2 hours depending on the number of people who appear. The Court schedules approximately 500 cases for initial appearance, and each case is heard individually. The cases are called on a first come, first served basis. You must check in with the Bailiff and then wait for your name to be called to meet with the District Attorney’s office.

If your violation involves an equipment violation, your vehicle registration, insurance, or the suspension/revocation of your driving privileges and you have now fixed the equipment violation, have properly insured or registered your vehicle or have obtained a valid driver’s license, you should bring the proof of repair, insurance, registration or license certificate with you to court.

IF YOU DECIDE TO PLEAD “GUILTY” OR "NO CONTEST” Your case will be closed out as cited and your fine will be due in 60 days. 

IF YOU DECIDE TO PLEAD "NOT GUILTY" you must file a written not guilty plea prior to appearing in court, or you will be given a new court date and you will be required to come back to court for another hearing. If your case is not settled at the initial appearance, you will receive a scheduling notice advising you of your next court date which will be a Pretrial hearing with the District Attorney.

COURT TRIAL OR JURY TRIAL: If you enter a plea of "NOT GUILTY", a trial to the Court will be scheduled if no resolution occurs at the Pretrial hearing. If you wish to have a Jury Trial, you must pay a non-refundable jury fee of thirty-six dollars ($36.00). The jury fee MUST be received by the Clerk of Circuit Court no later than ten (10) days after your Initial Appearance hearing.

IF YOU FAIL TO APPEAR ON A CITATION: If you fail to appear on a citation, the court official will consider your nonappearance a plea of no contest, make a finding that you are guilty as charged and impose the maximum penalties. You will receive written notification of the conviction approximately ten (10) working days after the Initial Appearance. The penalty will be due within (60) sixty days. Partial payments will be accepted immediately, if the full balance cannot be paid within (60) sixty days.

Please note that speeding violations of 25 or more miles per hour over the posted Speed Limit of 55, 65 or 70 speed limit carries a required fifteen (15) day driver license suspension under Wisconsin Stats. 343.30(1n).

Payments
You may pay with cash, check, money order, or credit card (MasterCard or Visa). There will be a 3% fee charged for credit card payments. If you want a payment plan, you may request a payment plan prior to the due date specified for your payment. A nominal fee of fifteen dollars ($15) is charged for all payment plans. For any questions regarding payments, please contact our accounting department by phone at 262-636-3402 or by email at accountingstaff.racine@wicourts.gov. 

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