Help! Court Date Conflicts With New Job

Hi everyone, I'd like to get some opinions. I just left my hospital job (12's, weekends, holidays, on call) for a clinic job with M-F regular hours. I am supposed to start January 5th. In November I received a rather expensive ticket for passing a school bus that had the stop arm out. The problem is, I distinctly remember stopping, along with two cars in the lanes next to me. Because it is so expensive, and I really didn't pass the bus while the arm was out, I requested a hearing to contest the ticket. Of course, I got the letter today that my hearing is scheduled for January 5th in the am. I can reschedule, but it says the officer will not attend a rescheduled hearing (does that matter? I don't know), and any rescheduled hearing date will also conflict with my job, since it is M-F. I am not sure if it would be totally inappropriate to tell the truth to my new boss and ask to start on Tuesday instead, or if I should reschedule the hearing and buy some time to tell her, or perhaps just pay the whopping $325 that I really don't deserve. I do not want to be labeled a problem at the new job, whether by calling in sick or having to go to court. Any and all opinions are appreciated, thanks!
If the officer doesn't show, that can probably only help you. I'd try to reschedule and then tell your work that you have an "appointment" on the new court date. When you work Mon-Fri, it's understood that sometimes you will need to come in late or leave early for appointments. It's not a big deal if you plan for it.

An employer, even a new one, should not hold a previously scheduled appointment against you, especially when you tell them at the first opportunity.

Officer not present = no witness to substantiate the claim. Think about it

If the officer doesn't show up, it's like Christmas time for you. Best to ask for a continuation of your case and hope he won't be there, because then they have to dismiss the case.

I contested a ticket where the lying officer didn't show. I lost anyways, although I did get fine decreased.

Thanks for the input. Here's the thing: it's a mail ticket, meaning they sent me a picture of my car that was taken by a camera on the stop arm. (I'm convinced it took the picture after the arm was already back in.) So I was initially confused as to why I even had the option to have the "officer" present, since I received the ticket in the mail. The notice they sent me with the hearing date says that officers will not be present at rescheduled hearings. Do they just send a random police officer to say, "we have a photo of you"? I already agreed to start work on January 5th, and I didn't find out about the hearing until today, so technically it wasn't a previously scheduled appointment. I am leaning toward rescheduling it at this point. I really don't want to start a new job off on the wrong foot.

Tell your employer, and hope they can accommodate you. If they can't, reschedule the hearing.