A Westwego traffic ticket can be resolved three ways: pay the fine through the city’s online portal at westwegofines.com, by mail, or in person at Mayor’s Court; appear on your court date to plead not guilty and go to trial; or ask about the diversion program to keep the charge off your record. What you cannot do is nothing. Louisiana law allows your driver’s license to be suspended within months of a missed court date, and the fine can double the day you fail to appear.
Paying the Fine
Paying is the fastest way to close an uncontested ticket. Westwego runs an online payment portal at westwegofines.com where you enter your citation number and pay electronically. You can also pay in person at the court office before your scheduled court date, or mail a money order to Westwego City Hall. Personal checks are generally not accepted. Save your confirmation or receipt.
One thing catches people off guard: paying the fine is the same as pleading guilty. The conviction goes on your driving record, the Louisiana Office of Motor Vehicles is notified, and your insurance company will eventually see it. If keeping the conviction off your record matters, read the diversion section before you pay.
Contesting the Ticket
If you believe the citation was issued in error or you have a defense, you have the right to fight it. Contesting requires appearing in person at Mayor’s Court on the date and time printed on your citation. You enter a not-guilty plea before the magistrate, and the court schedules a trial.
At trial, the city must prove you committed the violation. The issuing officer typically testifies, and you can present evidence, cross-examine witnesses, and make your case. Common defenses include challenging the accuracy of speed detection equipment, showing that a traffic sign was obscured, or demonstrating that the officer misidentified your vehicle. If you’re found not guilty, the charge is dismissed with no fine and no conviction.
Louisiana law provides a small procedural protection: if you plead not guilty, show up for trial, and the court doesn’t hold the trial on the scheduled date without granting a continuance, the charges may be dismissed.1Louisiana State Legislature. Louisiana Revised Statutes 32:57 – Penalties for Violation
The Diversion Program
Diversion is the main tool for keeping a traffic conviction off your record. If you qualify and complete the program, the charge is dismissed rather than recorded as a conviction. That matters because convictions trigger insurance rate increases and accumulate points with the Office of Motor Vehicles.
Diversion at the mayor’s court level works through the mayor’s statutory authority to suspend sentences and place defendants on probation. Louisiana law allows the mayor to place a convicted defendant on probation for up to one year, and at the end of that probation, set aside the conviction and dismiss the prosecution entirely.2Louisiana State Legislature. Louisiana Revised Statutes 33:441 – Mayor’s Court You apply through the City Attorney’s office, pay a diversion fee, and avoid further violations during the probation period.
To apply, you need a current driver’s license and valid proof of insurance. Eligibility typically requires a clean recent driving history. The diversion fee covers administrative costs on top of the standard fine, so you’ll pay more upfront than a simple guilty plea would cost. For most drivers the tradeoff is worth it: a dismissed charge means no conviction, no points, and no insurance surcharge.
CDL Holders Cannot Use Diversion
If you hold a commercial driver’s license or commercial learner’s permit, diversion is off the table. Federal law prohibits states from allowing CDL holders to use diversion, deferred adjudication, or any other mechanism that would prevent a traffic conviction from appearing on their driving record.3eCFR. 49 CFR 384.226 – Prohibition on Masking Convictions This applies to violations in any vehicle, not just commercial trucks. A CDL holder who gets a speeding ticket in a personal car on the Westbank Expressway cannot mask that conviction through Westwego’s diversion program.
CDL holders should seriously consider contesting the ticket at trial if the facts support a defense. The other option is negotiating with the City Attorney’s office for a reduced charge, which federal rules permit as long as the amended charge is still recorded on the driving record rather than hidden.
What Happens If You Ignore It
This is where most people get into real trouble. Ignoring a Westwego traffic ticket makes everything worse, and the consequences stack up quickly.
When you fail to appear on your court date, the court can immediately add a penalty up to the amount of your original fine, effectively doubling what you owe.1Louisiana State Legislature. Louisiana Revised Statutes 32:57 – Penalties for Violation The court can also forward your failure-to-appear notice to the Louisiana Department of Public Safety and Corrections. The department mails a warning: resolve the ticket within 180 days, or your license is suspended.4Justia Law. Louisiana Revised Statutes 32:57.1 – Failure to Honor Written Promise to Appear A second notice follows at the 120-day mark.
If you still haven’t responded after 180 days, the suspension takes effect. Getting your license back requires resolving the original ticket, paying accumulated fines and penalties, and paying a $100 reinstatement fee to the department.4Justia Law. Louisiana Revised Statutes 32:57.1 – Failure to Honor Written Promise to Appear Driving on a suspended license is a separate criminal charge that creates its own set of problems. Respond to the ticket one way or another before your court date.
Court Costs on Top of the Base Fine
The number on your ticket is not the total. Louisiana law requires Mayor’s Courts to add several mandatory fees to every traffic conviction. Under RS 33:441, the mayor can impose general court costs of up to $30 per offense, plus an additional $20 per offense, with $10 of that going to the local public defender’s office.2Louisiana State Legislature. Louisiana Revised Statutes 33:441 – Mayor’s Court
Several smaller state-mandated fees apply to every conviction:
- Law enforcement training: $2
- Trial court management: $3 for municipalities with more than 2,000 residents, which includes Westwego
- Judicial college: $0.50
- Crime stoppers: $2
- Motor vehicle record abstract: $2 for preparing and sending the conviction record to the Office of Motor Vehicles
Speeding and reckless driving convictions carry an additional $5 fee for the state’s traumatic head and spinal cord injury fund. If you failed to appear and then resolved the ticket late, expect another $12.50. Mandatory court costs can add $50 or more to whatever the base fine is, so budget accordingly.
If You Have an Out-of-State License
An out-of-state license does not give you a free pass to ignore a Westwego ticket. Louisiana is a member of the Nonresident Violator Compact, an agreement among 44 states and Washington, D.C. that ensures unpaid tickets follow you home.5Louisiana State Legislature. Louisiana Revised Statutes – Nonresident Violator Compact
If you fail to respond, Louisiana notifies your home state, which then sends you a notice and begins the process of suspending your license. Under the compact, if you don’t respond within 30 days of that notice, your home-state license is suspended until you resolve the Louisiana ticket or for one year, whichever comes first.5Louisiana State Legislature. Louisiana Revised Statutes – Nonresident Violator Compact
Alaska, California, Michigan, Montana, Oregon, and Wisconsin are not in the compact, so those states won’t suspend your license based on Louisiana’s notification. Drivers from those states still have an outstanding matter in Louisiana that creates problems on any future trip through the state. The simplest approach is to handle the ticket promptly by paying online or contacting the court to arrange payment by mail.
How a Conviction Affects Your Insurance
The fine and court costs are only part of what a Westwego conviction costs you. Insurance companies review driving records, and a moving violation conviction typically triggers a rate increase at your next renewal. Industry data suggests a single speeding conviction raises premiums by roughly 20 to 25 percent on average, and most insurers keep that surcharge in place for three years. Over that period the added premium cost can easily exceed $1,000, well beyond the original fine.
This is the real financial argument for diversion. If the charge is dismissed through diversion, it doesn’t appear as a conviction, and your insurer has nothing to surcharge you for. Even factoring in the higher upfront cost of the diversion fee, most drivers come out significantly ahead over the three-year surcharge window. The math is especially lopsided for drivers who already have one conviction on their record, since a second violation stacks the surcharge higher.
Appealing a Mayor’s Court Conviction
If you went to trial in Mayor’s Court and were found guilty, you can appeal. Appeals go to the Jefferson Parish district court, where the case is tried over from scratch rather than reviewed for errors.6FindLaw. Louisiana Revised Statutes Title 13 1896 – Appeals This “de novo” trial gives you a second chance to present your case to a district court judge.
You must file the appeal within the timeframe set by the Louisiana Code of Criminal Procedure. The district court then notifies the Mayor’s Court and schedules a hearing no fewer than 15 days after mailing that notice. Any fines or penalties collected by the district court on an ordinance violation conviction still go back to the city of Westwego.6FindLaw. Louisiana Revised Statutes Title 13 1896 – Appeals Appeals add time and complexity, but they exist as a safeguard when you believe the Mayor’s Court got it wrong.