Art. 960 Traffic cases heard before juvenile traffic referee; appeal to court

If a child gets a traffic ticket and their case is heard by a juvenile traffic referee, they have the right to challenge that decision. If the referee makes a ruling the child disagrees with, they can appeal to the court. But they have to act fast: the appeal must be filed within three days after the referee issues the judgment.

When the case goes up on appeal, the court doesn't just review what the referee decided. Instead, the court holds a brand new trial and looks at the case fresh, as if it hadn't been heard before. This is called a "trial de novo." Whatever the court decides at this new trial is final. There's no option to appeal again after that.

This means the child gets one chance to have a referee's decision reviewed by the court, but that review is the last stop. Once the court rules on the appeal, the case is closed for good.