In the olden days, if a person got a speeding ticket, for
instance, he could sign the back of the ticket (which meant he plead guilty),
call the courthouse for the fine amount and send the ticket and a check by mail
to take care of the matter.
Lots of people chose the other alternative: appear on the court date indicated on the
ticket. The would then either plead not
guilty and the matter would be set for trial or they’d plead guilty with an
explanation – something they wanted the judge to know before the plea was
accepted or the fine imposed.
The days when these matters were set on for hearing was
called the arraignment calendar, or simply, traffic court. I rather looked forward to those days. If the 70-year-old who had been driving for
over 50 years appeared on her first traffic ticket, I could accept the plea,
but waive the fine in recognition of a half century of good driving. I could take other matters into consideration
as well. And if traffic court fell on
Christmas Eve, well sometimes the Christmas spirit would influence the amount
of the fines levied that day.
That was all very good, but it did take time. And not just the judge’s time – court
administration, the bailiff, it all added up.
So, over time, more matters were added to the list of charges that could
be handled without a court appearance – the payable list. Later, a person could call into the
courthouse with the ticket number, find out what the fine was and take care of
it over the phone with a credit card.
Most recently, a statewide center was established to handle payable
tickets from all over the state – just call in with your credit card and in a
matter of minutes, the case would be resolved.
No need to take a half day off of work so you could go to court and
settle up.
Very convenient. Very
cost effective.
But, in many cases, very unfair. Many folks don’t know that if you plead
guilty to, say, driving without insurance, that your drivers license will be
suspended for 30 days. Or, if you call
in your plea to driving after suspension, your license will be suspended for an
even longer time.
Sometimes, I would like to see that young person with their
third underage consumption charge. Are
they chemically dependent and need counseling or treatment? Putting them on probation might help save a
lifetime of misery. But now, they can
simply call it in and pay the fine.
But, the budget is always a major concern, so I doubt very
much that these cases will ever go back on the “mandatory court appearance”
list.
Not all change is progress.
* * * * * * *
Sorry this was late being posted. No electricity this morning! Then at judges conference all day...
