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Saturday, July 29, 2006

Ind. Courts - More on: Thousands escape traffic fines when ticket writer doesn't come to court

"Thousands escape traffic fines when ticket writer doesn't come to court" was the headline to an Indianapolis Star investigative story published July 4th and quoted in this ILB entry from that date.

Today's story, by Vic Ryckaert, is headed "County calling bluff in traffic court 'game': Motorists paying fine on day of trial, avoiding cop and judge, now face extra $50 charge." The a side-bar to the story explains how the new policy works:

Ticketed drivers who show up in Marion County's traffic court and pay after they see the officer is present now pay a $200 fine, up from $150.

Also, drivers who request a court date and then fail to appear now are fined $250. Previously they were fined $200.

Drivers who go through with their court cases and lose face fines of up to $500, set at the discretion of the judge.

Drivers who have their cases dismissed, either because an officer fails to appear or they win their case, pay no fines.

From the story itself:
Marion Superior Court has started fining motorists who take their cases to court and settle moments before their trials start.

Judges hope that will discourage people who go to court in hopes of winning a dismissal simply because a police officer fails to show up. The new fines were announced after an investigation by The Indianapolis Star found that more than one in three traffic ticket cases is dismissed because officers skip their court dates.

Now, drivers who request a trial and then pay after they get to court and see the officer has shown up will pay an additional $50 fine. The policy took effect Monday.

"We've adopted a schedule that if you show up and you're trying to play the game that the cop doesn't show up, it's going to be added to the fine," said Judge Cale Bradford. "We are getting more of a 'gaming of the system' than people truly trying to assert their rights."

But critics question the policy. Defense attorney Jennifer Lukemeyer said the court is applying a broad policy to matters that ought to be handled on a case-by-case basis. The court might be inviting a class-action lawsuit or review by the Indiana Supreme Court.

"No court should have a uniform policy on imposition of any sentence, fine or disposition," Lukemeyer said. "It's no different than if the court tells a defendant, 'If you go to trial, you will get an extra 10 years.'"
Others say the new rules penalize people for exercising their constitutional rights.

"You have a right to have the state produce their evidence and go forward," Marion County Chief Public Defender David Cook said. "The state still has the obligation to show up at trial."

People hoping to beat the system by just showing up have created a backlog, Master Commissioner Marc Rothenberg said. He presides over the bustling traffic court at 10th Street and Post Road.

Court staff must schedule each case and send out subpoenas to witnesses. Motorists must wait about six months before their cases go to trial. "It's wasting court time," Rothenberg said. "If we had less of these cases set, people who really want trials would have them sooner. Instead of waiting six months, you could have it in three months." * * *

State law gives Rothenberg the leeway to levy fines up to $500 for most traffic violations. In his view, people who pay before stepping before him are admitting their guilt -- and he has the authority to impose an added $50 to their fine.

That $50 will help defray some of the overtime and administrative costs, Rothenberg reasoned.

Posted by Marcia Oddi on July 29, 2006 08:03 AM
Posted to Indiana Courts