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Tuesday, July 04, 2006

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

"Thousands escape traffic fines when ticket writer doesn't come to court" reports Vic Ryckaert reports today in the Indianapolis Star:

Star reporters Amy Bartner and Vic Ryckaert gathered paper copies of Marion County traffic court dockets from September to February and totaled the number of traffic court cases and the number dismissed because a police officer failed to appear. The records were drawn from 239 court sessions that involved nearly 13,000 cases.
The story begins:
For thousands of motorists in Marion County, beating a traffic ticket is as simple as showing up in court.

Speeders, red-light runners and others who break the rules of the road have a better than 1 in 3 chance of seeing their citations dismissed because the officers who wrote their tickets will fail to appear in court, an Indianapolis Star analysis shows.

From September to February, 4,776 of nearly 13,000 traffic court cases, or 37 percent, were dismissed because an officer did not show up for the hearing. * * *

Marion County has the busiest of the state's 150 or so traffic courts, handling as many as 30,000 ticket cases a year. To keep up with all the citations and traffic-related criminal offenses it handles, the court sets its calendar months in advance. And with so many cases, a ticket gets one shot before a judge, and there is no chance to reschedule. * * *

[Capt. Gregory Bieberich, commander of the Indianapolis Police Department's traffic section] believes officers attend court more often than The Star found in its analysis. The Star's findings are flawed, he said, because of the limitations of the county's error-riddled computerized records.

He's seen officers punch over-time cards proving they were in court, he said, at the same time court records claim they were absent. "The county's record keeping system is prone to errors," Bieberich said.

But there's no doubt that each day dozens of traffic tickets are dismissed because officers fail to appear. * * *

[Master Commissioner Marc Rothenberg, who presides over the bustling courtroom at 10th Street and Post Road,] routinely warns those fighting their tickets that the burden of proof in traffic court is much lighter than one sees in a criminal case.

The state must prove only that it's likely the driver committed the offense. Lawyers say that's a very difficult burden for a regular motorist to overcome.

"There's really not much you can do unless you can prove the equipment is bad," said John Fierek, an Indianapolis attorney who works in traffic court. "It is an uphill battle to prove a machine wasn't calibrated properly or that the officer was aiming it at the wrong car."

Finding such evidence would mean scheduling depositions and hiring experts, Fierek said. A motorist bent on seriously fighting the ticket would easily end up paying much more in defense fees than the $150 fine.

Those who still fight the ticket after the officer shows up should be prepared to shell out more than $150 if the judge decides they've offered a lame excuse.
Earnestine Myles, 68, felt the judge's sting after she tried to argue her way out of a recent ticket for speeding in a school zone.

The Near-Northside resident said she was going the same speed as the officer driving beside her. "It was unfair for him to write me a ticket," Myles said. "If I was speeding, he was speeding." Rothenberg fined her $200. * * *

Indianapolis police officer John Haggard, an eight-year veteran assigned to patrol traffic on the Westside, said attending court is part of his job. "It's basically finishing up the case that you started," he said.

Haggard, whose primary duty is traffic, has scheduled days each month where he knows he will be in traffic court. Most people who fight a ticket show up just to see whether the officer is there, Haggard said. When they see the cop, Haggard said, many drivers go ahead and pay the ticket before court starts.

But he agrees that, for most drivers, going to court is a pretty good gamble. "If I got a ticket, I'd probably try it. Why not?"

Posted by Marcia Oddi on July 4, 2006 10:56 AM
Posted to Indiana Courts