Thousands of active-duty military and civilian employees work on Fort Meade, and each day hundreds of contractors travel to the base for work.Fort Meade is also the site of the NSA headquarters, which is one of the largest government employers in the state.The NSA headquarters is located along MD 32 and just off the BW Parkway or 295.The base has its own police departments, and those who are pulled over for traffic violations will receive tickets issued by the NSA Police or the Fort Meade Police Services.Both are federal law enforcement agencies, and anyone who receives a federal ticket from these officers will have their case heard in the Baltimore City federal courthouse on Lombard Street.Many of the tickets are considered payable, which means you do not necessarily need to appear in court.On the other hand, if you pay the citation, it will be considered an admission of guilt.
Those who must appear in court for offenses such as DUI, driving without a license, driving uninsured vehicle, drug possession and firearm possession will have an initial appearance set in the United States District Court.During the initial appearance the judge will inform the defendant of the maximum penalties and the right to an attorney.Witnesses will not be present at an initial appearance, and a plea offer will not be extended in most circumstances.
Drivers who receive payable traffic tickets do not need to appear if they choose to pay the ticket in advance.If a driver does not pay the ticket he or she must also show up for an initial appearance, but an initial appearance for a payable ticket is treated as an opportunity to resolve the case.Favorable plea offers can be extended during this initial appearance and an experienced lawyer may be able to argue for a dismissal.Witnesses are not present at the initial appearance for a payable ticket, so you cannot have a trial on the spot.Rather, if a driver wants a trial, he or she will have to come back at a different date for the bench trial.
After receiving a ticket on Fort Meade a driver will receive a court notice from the Central Violations Bureau or CVB, which is a federal office in Texas that handles all the tickets issued by federal cops.As a result of the system being nationalized, the process can be slow.Most citizens will wait much longer to receive a federal notice than a state notice- sometimes more than 6 months. Notices with MD 41 on the top are NSA citations, while MD 81 means the ticket is from Fort Meade.The police officers and prosecutors are different for the NSA and Fort Meade, but the dockets are held on the same day.Plan on being in court for several hours, though if you hire a lawyer, you may not have to appear.Benjamin Herbst is an experienced criminal defense attorney who specializes in NSA traffic tickets and criminal citations.He has fought for the dismissal of hundreds of federal tickets and is standing by at 410-207-2598 to offer a free consultation about your case.