The Steep Costs of a Traffic Infraction in California
In California, traffic ticket expenses have been a significant problem for the state’s poorer populations. It has also been the source of several civil liberties debates. Like many states, after an offender fails to pay the ticket, California charges additional fees for failing to pay by a certain time. If an individual accrues multiple tickets and fails to pay those tickets on time, he or she can amass thousands of dollars in traffic ticket debt.
California imposes harsh financial and non-financial penalties for those who fail to pay their traffic tickets. Financially speaking, a $100 traffic ticket quickly becomes over $500 when it is late; the five-hundred percent markup accounts for several additional fees. Steep financial penalties are used not only to support the transportation system, but some of the fees in particular are used to support California’s judicial system. It is common knowledge in the state that the California judicial system receives much needed funds from additional fees added to delinquent traffic tickets; like a fee for new courtroom construction. Further, drivers with very delinquent tickets are subjected to two other non-financial punishments that have been under fire by civil rights activists and political figures; license suspensions and requirements to pay before a hearing to contest a ticket.
License Suspension
Imagine living paycheck to paycheck with little wiggle room financially and one day you’re pulled over by the police on your way to work. The officer comes back with your license and registration and informs you that your license has been suspended for thousands of dollars in unpaid parking tickets; you are unable to drive your vehicle any further and must have it towed. If your job is not accessible by public transportation, you are likely to have to rely on the goodwill of others to get to work and run errands until you save the money to pay those tickets, a feat that could take months depending of the amount of money you owe.
On one hand, the California judicial system does benefit from some of the burdensome fees traffic tickets accrue, this is funding the system needs given continuous budget cuts. However, this practice places many of its indigent citizens at risk of being unable to support their families when fees are too high to pay and the stakes are too high to risk. The rule has resulted in the suspension of over 4.8 million licenses throughout the state, with many people owing thousands of dollars in traffic ticket debt. Because of that, political leaders such as Governor Jerry Brown have considered the potential levels of traffic debt accrual to be a civil rights issue because the poor are unfairly targeted and held in unconscionable conditions for many (a lack of a license) until the debt is paid. Governor Brown has introduced an amnesty program for residents who cannot pay the fines and fees. The amnesty plan would cut traffic debt incurred before 2013 in half and would allow individuals to get their licenses reinstated if they participate in the program.
Payments Before Hearings
Until recently, individuals who wanted a hearing to contest their traffic infractions had to pay the fines before receiving a hearing on the county level. Eight counties in California required individuals to pay their traffic fines in full before contesting the ticket. This could prevent innocent people from contesting traffic fines they did not deserve because they could not pay the large fines.
This issue has caught the attention of many, including California Chief Justice Tani Cantil-Sakauye, who called on the Judicial Council for an “emergency rule” to end this injustice. The American Civil Liberties Union of Northern California wrote letters to the eight counties who posted the rule on their websites stating that a person’s ability to pay a fine should not, in any way, hinder his or her day in court. As a result, this week the Judicial Council voted unanimously to oust this rule.