i have a court date comming up for a traffic violation few months ago. this will be my very first court trial ever in my life...im wanting to hear some suggestions/advice/ideas/just whatever to help me prepare and whatnot.

and a little background, i did a trial by written declaration but still lost. so this will be my 2nd trial technically, but first in-person trial. so how do the court trials for traffic violations work? do i just report to the courthouse and dont need to talk to the counter clerk to sign in? can i talk to the officer/judge in advance to request traffic school before my trial begins? how long do these things usually take? etc. im a complete noob so maybe some of you with exp. can lead me in the right direction and make me feel more comfortable. i think im gonna be nervous