[ds968]

More and more minor traffic violations in California which do not require a court appearance per se, nonetheless carry added court fees which can be as high as 10x the violation penalty itself . Example : the new bicycle protection law taking effect in January - you must allow a 3 ft buffer zone at all times between your car and a cyclist, and where there is no designated bike lane, the bicycle has the right to the entire lane, so if you pass the bike you must change lanes completely, just as if it was a car. The penalty for failure to do that : $ 35. Added court fees : $ 285 . No you do not need to go to court unless you want to contest the ticket, but you'll still eat the real court fees.. Either way you're screwed. The same applies to most other violations now, so when you see a carpool lane sign which reads $ 365 minimum, the actual cost including court fees is approx $ 1,000. Texting or talking while driving : $ 50. Added court fees $ 250 + . And remember your insurance premiums will increase , since most insurance companies consider it a moving violation even if the DMV does not categorize it as such. With that last one I don't have an issue,

but for most every other minor offenses where these virtual court fees are tacked on , it's essentially

legally sanctioned robbery, and again no one can do anything about it. Welcome to a fascist state !

Partial Post: Please Login or Register to read the full post.

[Paul W]

Word: California

Partial Post: Please Login or Register to read the full post.

[flash]

that's because of the cost of dealing with the paperwork. the bureaucracy has built to the extent that it completely burdens the system with cost. a court must still review the citations. clerks still have to process everything.



sooner or later there will be cameras everywhere, and you'll just get an electronic "bill" for your violations.



as for the fascist stuff, the law is the law. break it and enjoy the consequences. would the feelings be different if it were a flat fee of $300, instead of stacked fees?



frankly why we don't string up and hang red light runners, and cell phone users, is beyond me. those fines need to be a LOT higher.

Partial Post: Please Login or Register to read the full post.

[lbpesq]

If you think it's bad for minor traffic violations, try getting sentenced for a DUI or any felony! There is a fee for everything. And the huge backlog on the criminal side spills over to make civil courts almost unavailable to litigants. And just try getting a court clerk on the phone these days. Most courts now only answer phones for a few hours each day, often "closing" at 1 or 2 p.m. And you have to wade through numerous layers of electronic voice hell to even get to a human. We can thank, among other things, the "war on some drugs" which has filled our courts and prisons to overflowing. Big Brother gets closer every day!

Partial Post: Please Login or Register to read the full post.

[Rap]

Please enjoy it now because the fees will only escalate. Would you rather have your income taxes raised? The money has to come from somewhere!

Partial Post: Please Login or Register to read the full post.

[ds968]

I agree with flash on red light runners and cell phone users and drunk or stoned drivers, but to charge someone $ 500 for a minor infraction just to satisfy the cost of the bureaucracy created by bureaucrats to keep themselves employed and laws that are arbitrarily implemented without anyone having a chance to vote for or against them, is asinine.

Partial Post: Please Login or Register to read the full post.

[biosurfer1]

I find it hard to believe those infractions are that much different from speeding. I just went to court for my speeding ticket and the added fee's were $79. Yes, quite a bit for my 30 seconds of the courts time, but a far cry from what you are talking about.

Partial Post: Please Login or Register to read the full post.

[ds968]

KRON ( the local NBC affiliate ) just ran the story this morning, starting with the fees tacked on to the bicycle buffer zone violation, and subsequently mentioning the others. And maybe it's not a State, but could vary from County to County or even a City thing ( ? ) however, I can assure you at least the carpool lane " added fees " are over $ 600 ; my co-worker who ironically is one of our internal counsels and could not talk herself out of that ticket, will vouch for that fact , and has, with her pocketbook :-( . Count your blessings you got away with only $ 79 fees on a speeding ticket..

Partial Post: Please Login or Register to read the full post.

[Rap]

Are you sure it's the bureaucrats who determine the fines. Court costs are a different matter.

Partial Post: Please Login or Register to read the full post.

[968Syncro]

Ah excuse me, the U.S. is a police state -- just a fact. We let it get that way, please don't be surprised when there are new laws to restrict freedom.

Partial Post: Please Login or Register to read the full post.

[gdcruse]

Hey this State is broke, mismanaged to a ridiculous level of uselessness. The courts in San Diego shut the phones off at 11:30 AM. If your County keeps them on until 1 or 2 PM, good for you. The State, Counties and Cities are all looking for ways to pull in money, the added fees to the fines is a easy way to add money to the coffers with little expense. Even during the Great Depression the courts were not closed early.

Partial Post: Please Login or Register to read the full post.

[Chris Vais]

Having worked in countries that are in fact police states, I can assure you that the US doesn't even begin to meet the definition. We are, however, a nation of laws and generally speaking the laws are reasonable well enforced and that is one of the things that makes to US an attractive place to live.



The economic downturn that we have experienced has more to do with the additional fees that you see at the county level than anything else. The depreciation of property values means less property tax to support city and county government. The loss of business and the slowdown of business activity among those that have managed to survive also means less tax revenue. People like me who lost jobs during the recession paid less tax than we would otherwise have.



If we enforce the laws we have on the books, and there are insufficient funds to conduct the administration of justice, then we have two choices as I see it. Either we attached court fees, which by the way are paid by the offender, as they should be, rather than the public at large, or we can increase taxes to cover the shortfall. I suppose as a last resort we could just not enforce the laws.



If you get caught speeding and the court tacks a fee onto the fine you pay, in the words of an attorney friend of mine, you will have received "all of the justice you were entitled to under the law".

Partial Post: Please Login or Register to read the full post.

[tamathumper]

Sorry I just don't agree that the only choices when ever-growing government gets hungry is to find new ways to feed it. Government should be adjusted, just like any other natural system, to match available resources, which means cuts in hard times. Animals, plants, and businesses all adjust to hard times, what makes government immune besides our own short-sightedness?

Partial Post: Please Login or Register to read the full post.

[flash]

frankly, as somebody who actually lives here, and deals with the traffic and idiots on the road, i don't think the fines are nearly high enough. i also think there should be a stiff fee for a driver's license. driving is a privilege, not a right. it should cost you a LOT of money. not everybody should be allowed to drive. the busses run everywhere. there is no reason for most people to drive. it's just selfishness.



i think norway has it nailed in more ways than one. they have it figured out for driving. they only had 154 traffic fatalities in 2012. they ranked 177th of 192 in fatal accidents per capita. it costs about $5k to get a license.



they also have the 11th best health care on the planet (we ranked 38th), and all paid for by the government.



perhaps we should be looking at their model.



so, before we go making sweeping statements about this or that, we should really consider that we really have it pretty good, and should sit down, shut up, and pay our fines when we've broken the law.

Partial Post: Please Login or Register to read the full post.

[Rap]

There is a limit to how much you can adjust the criminal courts for example in this country. Just because there is less tax revenue doesn't mean there can be a reduction in the amount of crime that is dealt with. Actually it seems to be the opposite. I hate traffic tickets just like everyone else. Unfortunately I've never figured out a good way to blame others for my actions!

Partial Post: Please Login or Register to read the full post.

[ds968]

So double or triple or quadruple the actual fines, make obtaining a driver's license both more difficult to get as well as to retain it, impose harsher sentences for major violations, but don't refer to the extra ( and often absurdly high ) charges as "court fees" when not one single additional resource of the court system is utilized to process your fine if you simply mail in the payment, just as was always the case . I guess it's all semantics, but it drives me nuts when you're charged for a non-existent service, one that has no relevance to tickets which are not contested. On the other hand, I think my electric bill includes some charge which goes toward PG&E's solar energy R&D investments so I suppose in a small way we get to fund other public entities.. at least that charge is a negligible few pennies, tacked on to a large bill, unlike the court fees where the reverse seems to bed the case. Ok, off my soap box now, just had to vent when I saw the report on " virtual " court fess.

Partial Post: Please Login or Register to read the full post.

[flash]

you confuse court fees with being in court in person. the "court" still performs the same functions whether you are there or not. they still process the same paperwork. they still review the case. due process is still happening. nothing is changed except for the 5 minutes of somebody trying to apply some lame excuse for their actions.

Partial Post: Please Login or Register to read the full post.

[biosurfer1]

True flash, however they charge everyone, even the guy who doesn't contest or simply says "guilty", as if they are planning on going to a full trial.



I doubt a mechanic would get away with charging everyone for a water pump/TB replacement when it turned out the customer only needed an oil change. He still used a lift and tools, but the actual work done is way different between the two jobs.

Partial Post: Please Login or Register to read the full post.

[968Syncro]

I beat a red light camera ticket once. Stressful for weeks or a couple of months, the notice came in the mail, full of legal wording and threats, $500-$600 submit this amount immediately or a warrant will be issued for your arrest. The car was registered in my name, the notice made clear the obligation and liability, and even included lies.



I went to court and brought the notice with me, complete with pictures. I was not the driver. The judge asked for my driver's license -- looked at the picture on my license and stated: "let the record show that Roland is not behind the wheel during this offense -- case dismissed".



[remainder clipped, it was bordering on a late-night Internet rant that might have been too mean .....]



I'll leave the PS: this was not racing through a light. She got caught by the camera standing still on the intersection during a left turn because the traffic backed up. True, technically it was not legal, but oncoming traffic was not affected, nobody disadvantaged, once again a victimless crime.



Roland

Partial Post: Please Login or Register to read the full post.

[ds968]

[quote name='flash' timestamp='1380598048' post='150100']you confuse court fees with being in court in person. the "court" still performs the same functions whether you are there or not. they still process the same paperwork. they still review the case. due process is still happening. nothing is changed except for the 5 minutes of somebody trying to apply some lame excuse for their actions.[/quote]



On a non-contested ticket for which you mail a payment , they do absolutely nothing more than they did a few years ago where no court fees were assessed on the fine.

Partial Post: Please Login or Register to read the full post.