In CT, the state's attorney (the prosecutor) or their assistant will offer the opportunity to plea this out prior to trial. Typically what will happen in CT as a result of a not guilty plea, is you arrive early, get in line, then talk to an assistant state's attorney. If your MVR is clean, you have a shot at a nolle, or a reduction to the lesser charge of "failure to obey a state traffic commission sign." When you meet with the state's attorney's assistant, consider politely and respectfully asking something like, "Since my record is clean, (if applicable) would you consider a nolle" I don't doubt what you're saying, but if it were me, I wouldn't even mention the speedometer error, or calibrating radar guns, or the 7,011 excuses they've already heard. They're in a hurry, and don't want hear it, plain & simple. It's generally a case of how many MPH over, your priors, and what the officer's notes say as to where this will go. Whatever happened and was said at the scene of the arrest is on paper and in front of the assistant state's attorney when he or she speaks to you. If you don't agree with what the state's attorney offers you, you will then have the option to refuse the offer and see the judge, but it doesn't make sense that the judge would ignore the suggested disposal of the home team and side with you.
I'm not clear how this works if one skips the opportunity to plea prior to trial, and just heads into court vs. whether or not the arresting officer appears. We are guaranteed the opportunity to face our accuser in court, but then again, the judge has within his or her power the option to make you appear again to allow the officer's appearance, and if the officer does have to appear and the court wastes further time on what they consider a very minor issue, your chances at a plea bargain may evaporate. In my humble opinion, if the officer appears, and the court makes time for you, it's now a matter of economics - someone is going to have to pay for their time, and you have what is to them, what is essentially a due & payable 'invoice' in hand.
Footnote on priors - the myth about paying out of state tickets early and then they don't appear on ones MVR is just that - a myth. If you have any violations within say, the past 5 years, from almost any state (except Mass.) then those violations are visible to the prosecutor. Since the CDLIS system came online, the states seem much better at sharing information. If you have any questions regarding what is or isn't still on your MVR, you can stop by CT DMV and get a copy of your record.
If we're talking Middletown court, (where the breaks are few and far between) and you absolutely need to beat this, let me know. I have a friend who was a prosecutor there, and is now in private practice.
