I've done this several times this year. Go to Rocky Mountain Plaza around 7:45. Line up outside the place and wait for it to open. When it does, go to the wickets and speak to a JP. Tell them you would like to speak with a First Appearance Crown. They'll take your info and tell you to have a seat. Go have a coffee. It'll be a while before the FAC start taking clients. It works on a first come, first served basis so that's why you showed up early (otherwise you could be there for hours). When the FAC calls your name, take a seat in the little room.
Be polite and plead your case. The FAC's are mandated to try and get a guilty plea to reduce court costs so they'll make a deal if they can. If you are concerned about demerits you can often swing a deal to make the ticket a "registered owner" ticket. The fine will be about the same but there won't be any demerits. Usually it won't affect your insurance either. If you're mostly concerned with the amount of the fine, then talk about little Johnny's boots. It helps if you can say you are a poor student too.
The FAC will make a proposal. He'll write it on a little slip of paper. Next you'll wait until another person, a JP, calls your name. You talk to her about time to pay and verifying the details of the proposal. You can accept the deal right there or ask for some time to think about it.
That's about it. It takes some time but you can usually get a deal. I've had over $5000 in fines and 13 demerits reduced to $1200 and 2 demerits. The amount you get knocked off, however, might be less than what it costs to take the morning off of work. Do the math. Good luck.
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