Nuggets guard J.R. Smith said he wasn't surprised to be fined $1,000 for missing a court hearing in New Jersey last month.

"Any time you don't show up in court, they're supposed to fine you," he said.

"I knew I was going to get fined."

Smith, who appeared at a hearing Tuesday in Millstone Township, N.J., faces several traffic charges in the July 8, 2007, accident that killed his friend Andre Bell. His next hearing is set for March 17.

Smith wasn't charged with vehicular homicide in the accident, but Bell's estate has filed a civil lawsuit.