I went for the parking ticket. The expereinec was that you should plea guilty first (unless you have enough reasons for plea not guilty and have confidence in your English) and then you try to find a reason to convince the judge that you didn't do that on purpose and try to get the fine reduced. For my case, the fine was reduced from $50 to $15 and I saw most people got the similar results. Don't try to fool the judge as he knows every corner of the city. When I was there, a guy trying to fool him saying due to his grandma, he parked somewhere illegally, but the judge can tell from what he said he is in fact a Pizza delievery guy, and his fine stays.
Anyway, try to go to the court if you have time and at least you won't lose anything more than the fine you received already.
But maybe you could get fine reduced and also learned the expereince. Good luck.