When I was a college freshman, I got a ticket for hitting someone on an icy road when I turned too fast. I went to court and chose to plead “guilty with an explanation.” I explained how there had been a huge storm overnight, how icy it was, how I was driving back from school, how I managed to control my car enough to avoid a head-on collision (I grazed the side of the guy’s car), and how I was sorry for the damages caused.
The officer present said I had a clean record prior to this, and the magistrate decided that I had to pay the court fees but that the ticket was “impeded from my record.” I didn’t get points, then, but my insurance did go up for a while because the person I hit filed a claim. I got some scary calls from his insurance but had my insurance handle it (we have no fault insurance).
So, I guess my point is that even if you admit guilt, they can give you some leniency if you’re honest, sincere, and show up to court. Most people don’t go to court (they just mail it in), so you can sometimes get leniency. The officer who wrote me the ticket actually told me to go to court since it was my first incident and the weather was bad.
Not sure if it’s worth flying to and from places to go to court, though. That’s up to you. I like the idea of calling the ADA (or having an attorney do it).