When he first went to the court building, why didn't Paul simply tell the court clerk what date he wanted? Easy—from what I understand, traffic-court clerks in most places don't allow members of the public to select court dates. If a date the clerk suggests doesn't work for the person, she'll offer an alternative or two, but that's as far as she will bend. On the other hand, anyone who is willing to take the extra time of showing up for an arraignment is likely to have better luck.