The government makes it far too difficult to fight traffic tickets and any other minor fine. If your city is anything like mine, to defend yourself against a speeding ticket or parking ticket you must first attend a court office in person to request a court date. This process often takes at least an hour if not two. You are then required to attend court during the day at a future time and wait your turn to be heard. This often takes a few hours. It is completely unfair, a waste of taxpayers’ time and money and as far as I can tell, a tactic to make it as difficult as possible for people to defend themselves. The government has technological know-how to take payment for many types of fines online, to renew a driver’s license online and offers many more online services. Why then can’t we request a court date online if we choose to fight a ticket?
The only reason I can fathom is that the government wants to make it as difficult as possible to refuse to pay a fine. It is a cash grab. The more difficult it is for people to request a court date and the more inconvenient it is to attend court, the less likely they are to defend themselves and the more likely it is that they will be forced to pay the fines assessed even though they may not be guilty of the charges. When unemployment is so high and people are fearful of losing their jobs, how can the government expect them to take a couple of hours off work to go in person to request a court date – something that could easily be done over the Internet. Most people work from 9 to 5 and do not have two hours to spare to go stand in line at the court to request a trial date. And even if people do have time – it’s a complete waste of time. It is an abuse of process. Every person has a right to their day in court and we shouldn’t have to jump through hoops to get it.
The courts are back-logged as it is. I’m reasonably confident that someone in government can figure out a much more efficient procedure.
