Postponement of court date in accident citations summons (attorney, legal)

[Mukul]

Hi,
I've gone through the only other thread on this topic, and am at a unique situation myself which requires some experienced help.
I had an accident in which I was turning left and the car to which I was "supposed" to yield came and crashed into me. The catch was that, I had yielded to all cars and was in reasonable in my right to move on. The lights had changed to yellow, and this fellow probably sped up to beat the light and thus crashed into me from the passenger's side.
Since, I was the one turning left, I got the citation. The court date is for the 17th of December. At that point I will not even be in the United States. I went to the court (Garnett St.) today and tried to get them to postpone.
The clerk initially outright refused to take any application saying that Georgia doesn't postpone hearings for accident cases. However, after some persistence he took the letter I wrote requesting postponement, stamped it and uploaded it as an e-document. I also gave him my itinerary as proof to show the judge. Now, he told me that the judge would look at it at the time of the summons and decide whether to honor my request or reject it. Later on, he came outside, and took in my disarrayed state, to offer calmer advice, wherein he said that if this was going to be the first appearance at court for me, the judge would postpone the date.
Now, there is no hard certainty or proof that this is going to happen.

- Should I risk it and not show up on the original date? Are there any previous instances of people getting postponements on accident summons?

- Added problem: I am an international citizen, and when I return to the US, if the judge had indeed rejected my request (meaning I failed to appear at court), would I face immigration problems ? If so, what is the severity to which these could rise?

- Can I do anything else to make sure that I get the postponement?

- Suppose I get to court, should I know anything about such a situation (me turning left) which might help me defend my position as not guilty?

I will be very grateful for any help.

Regards,
Mukul

[atlantagreg30127]

This is a legal matter which you should discuss only with a licensed attorney. No one here could (or should) offer legal advice in the forum for such in inquiry. Sorry, but this is not the appropriate place so please consult an attorney.