I’ve been photo’d in Phoenix and could easily pay but didn’t based on principal. I’m not just handing over money and getting points on my driving record based on a camera and radar mounted on a street corner. If an actual police officer gets me on radar and pulls me over than I’ll happily pay the fine.
That said not appearing or not contacting the court kinda blows that argument. He either somehow didn’t know (which I doubt) or just blew it off and didn’t know that not appearing warrants a civil court date.
If this is a photo radar incident then this is easy to explain. And I know because I have gone through it.
When you are given a photo radar, they mail you the citation. It does not count as being officially served. No matter which avenue you chose, there are no points on your license because this is just a cash grab for the city. It isn't about law and order, it is about making the city money.
1) Pay the mailed citation
You can pay it and save yourself all the processing fees they tack onto the ticket, which is well over $100.
2) Don't pay the mailed citation
As being mailed doesn't count as being served a court date (and every moving violation has a court date), you can wait to see if they can serve you. The city has 90 days to physically hand you a citation. If they are unable to do so then you pay nothing. If they do find you, then you owe the processing fee and the serving fee.
So basically you can just wait it out. I have been tagged twice. Once I stupidly paid. The next time I read up on it, didn't pay, and never got served.