Can I get off with police error on my traffic ticket?

I got a traffic ticket last month for failing to yield to a pedestrian in a crosswalk. The cop who issued me the ticket said that I did not have to go to court over it. When I went to pay it, the people there told me that I have to go to court (even though "court appearance required" was not checked on my ticket). Apparently, he wrote "failure to yield to ped" but underneath that wrote down "39:4-96" as the statute number, which is actually reckless driving. The statute number for failure to yield for a pedestrian is "39:4-36". Was this done in error? For reckless driving, court appearance is required by the state because it is a serious offense so I believe he cop made a mistake. If so, could I get off not having to pay the ticket fines or get points?