Traffic Court: How To Legally Rob The Citizenry
Jeffrey A. Tucker writes about traffic court on the blog at Foundation for Economic Education, in a piece called, "How to Steal $75,000 from the Poor in One Day's Work: Traffic Court Is a Tax-Collection Scheme Masked as Justice":
Cops, judges, and courts ... exercise arbitrary power to ruin people's lives, and they continue to do so at astonishing rates, all over the country.I recently saw this firsthand. I sat in a municipal traffic court from 9:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m., awaiting my own time with the judge for a petty moving violation. I was there with 150 other people, gathering cobwebs as the judge took his sweet time and shamed people as they stood at the bench and humbly submitted to his rule.
No phones or computers are allowed in court. My iPad was not allowed, either. Once you enter through the metal detector, you are trapped for the duration. There is no contacting anyone. For most people today, this would be the only time in their lives when such contact is forbidden. This rule contributes to the feeling of being controlled by and subjected to power.
You just have to wait your turn, even if it takes eight hours. So there we sat.
Not one person in this courtroom had harmed anyone. Not one. They had not stolen anything, had not mugged anyone, had not caused any car wrecks. And yet there they were, facing torment at the hands of a judge drunk on power and a criminal-justice system that is out of control.
...Each person was fined between $500 and $3,000, and always on a plea bargain. They admitted guilt for something in exchange for paying a reduced fine.
For example, the judge dismissed my one charge (not complying with the "move over" rule -- which requires a drive to switch lanes away from a patrol car on the shoulder -- a rule I didn't know existed) and I admitted guilt for something that wasn't even true: driving without my license. In fact, I did have my license, so the form I signed was a lie that the judge had me tell. By what understanding of justice does the court blackmail you to admit to crimes you didn't commit?
Fully one-third of these people had been dragged in for pot possession. In the typical scenario, a cop would stop a car on a rural stretch for some minor moving violation. The cop would claim to smell pot, which constitutes probable cause, and initiate a thorough search of the car. The cop would find a pipe or some pot, arrest the person, and then issue a few other tickets in addition, for things like no proof of insurance, a burnt-out taillight, and so on. But it was the pot charge that had landed these drivers in front of the judge.
Repeatedly, the judge reminded the accused, "We are not in Colorado. In the state of Georgia, your offense carries with it a 12-month prison sentence."
The judge then said he would not send the person to jail. He dismissed a few other charges, thereby positioning himself as a merciful public servant. He was then in a position to get any of these poor souls to admit guilt for anything as long as they would get a lesser sentence.
Everyone was fined. But some punishments went further. The pot criminals were required to do 50 to 100 hours of community service, taking away time from school, work, and family. They now have to attend classes on the dangers of drugs (I'm sure those work!). They also must submit to six months of drug testing to make sure they are not consuming this dangerous substance. They prove this by sending in urine samples. Now I understand why there is such a burgeoning market for synthetic urine.
They also get a criminal record.
Then there's the fine. Most people could not pay hundreds or thousands of dollars on the spot. The judge gave them one month to cough up the money. Where are these poor people going to get that kind of money? One solution that immediately occurred to me: they could get into the drug business temporarily. Another option: steal the money. How much crime is being brought about through these fines?
He estimated that there was $75K collected on his day in traffic courts, with everyone treating the judge as "some kind of great man."
Here in Los Angeles, you can prove you didn't commit the violation -- like when I showed that my car actually was re-registered...months before I got the ticket. Didn't matter. I sent in a letter showing my paid-for registration and a photo of the current sticker on my license plate. The reply? Pay the fine.
Gangsters with the force of law behind them. Sleazy.
Here are my tweets to LA's head parking violations sleazebag, Seleta Reynolds.
All you need to know: In California, the fine for blowing through a stop sign (which will get somebody killed) is not much different than driving a single-occupant vehicle in an HOV lane.
Bolillo_SCZ at November 1, 2015 10:33 PM
He's missing something: the first court appearance doesn't count except to inform you that a second court appearance will be required if you contest anything. For interstate travelers, this means lots of time off work. It guarantees money from traffic tickets.
If you are a retiree with pain medication dangerous enough that it could knock you out if you take a dose out of schedule, it doesn't matter: you will be arrested as a Class 3 Felon if you have your medication in a dated container and are found with it in your car. Next to your prescription bottle.
Radwaste at November 1, 2015 11:52 PM
I couldn't take time out to go to court, so I just ended up paying -- despite calls and emails to Seleta Reynolds' office.
Amy Alkon at November 2, 2015 5:38 AM
One solution comes to mind: Require that all levels of government refund all fines collected as a check to each adult citizen resident in that jurisdiction, and remit any fines collected from out-of-jurisdiction people to the government where they live. No cuts for "administration" - the amount collected divided by the number of citizens registered.
Seems like changing incentives would be the easiest way to change the behavior.
Aaron at November 2, 2015 9:09 AM
This is just wrong!
http://www.cleveland.com/tipoff/index.ssf/2015/03/linndale_still_nabbing_speeder.html
Goo at November 2, 2015 10:20 AM
Traffic fines are nothing but revenue sources for cities these days. And they're paid for primarily form poor families who can't fight them.
That's why Ferguson exploded.
When I first got to California in 1995, the fine for a carpool lane violation was $168. Today, the minimum fine is $481. Since expensive Teslas and Prii are allowed to drive in those lanes with a single vehicle occupant (environmentally friendly ya know), the well-to-do have few worries. The working class who are late to work have to suck it up and sit in traffic.
Conan the Grammarian at November 2, 2015 3:04 PM
Conan, I heard the same thing about Ferguson. The Michael Brown shooting was the straw that broke the camel's back and now it turns out to have been a very flimsy straw. That's the climate that this kind of abuse foments.
jim at November 2, 2015 3:09 PM
We got a fine for not paying at a toll booth. Except we always pay at the booth. I figured, some technical glitch and called. I couldn't prove we paid any more than they could prove we didn't (they just had a photo of the plate, which I pointed out, could have been taken at the grocery store)). They said it was a manned booth and if somebody doesn't have cash, they are sent though and this is what happens. And here I had been avoiding the unmanned ones because I figure this is less likely if somebody has to push a button to let you out.
It was about $14 total (fee plus toll) for a $1-2 toll, but if we were late, it was like a $50 charge... and if we contested it, it'd take 30 days (yadda-yadda) and I'm sure they'd forget to extend the time due to inquiry. We paid, but I'm mighty unhappy about the situation. Election day is tomorrow, right?
Shannon at November 2, 2015 8:15 PM
Conan the Grammarian at November 3, 2015 9:55 AM
When we turn our police into revenue collectors, we destroy respect for them as public safety guardians.
Conan the Grammarian at November 3, 2015 10:01 AM
I'd have written them a letter saying they had no proof I had parked in a BART lot
lujlp at November 3, 2015 11:40 AM
Traffic fines are nothing but revenue sources for cities these days. And they're paid for primarily form poor families who can't fight them.
That's why Ferguson exploded.
--Conan
Conan, I heard the same thing about Ferguson.
--Jim
Here's Radley Balko's article, as usual for Balko, well-researched and comprehensive. Sarah Kendzior, a St Louis-area native, has also written about this issue.
Grey Ghost at November 4, 2015 6:52 AM
Grey,
Tax the rich sounds great. But it never really works. For one thing there aren't enough rich people to fund things. For anther they are rich i.e. they have more resources and they can use those resources to avoid paying taxes.
The more you sell tax the rich the more the poor end up paying.
Ben at November 5, 2015 7:27 AM
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