The Boston Globe wrote Controversial ticket appeal fees to have SJC hearing.
"Two years after state lawmakers imposed fees for fighting traffic tickets, the number of appeals has dropped, raising questions about whether the effort to weed out frivolous cases and raise revenue has hindered access to courts.
For the year beginning July 2009, when a $25 fee was added to appeal a moving violation to a clerk magistrate, 217,197 drivers challenged their tickets — almost 10 percent fewer than the previous fiscal year. During the same period, when they had to pay another $50 to contest a clerk’s decision, 15,466 drivers appealed to a district court judge — almost 35 percent fewer than the previous fiscal year."
“It’s ridiculous,’’ said Charlene Allen, 27, of Dorchester, who paid $75 to fight a $50 citation for an expired inspection sticker because she worried about an increase in her insurance premiums.
So the court is happy that it has reduced their workload and increased revenue, but the citizens are not happy with the added fees. If it's weeding out frivolous cases, fine but it could also be preventing the innocent from appealing.
The obvious fix seems to be to waive the fees if you win the appeal. I don't know why the article doesn't mention that.
2 comments:
Charlene Allen is right that it's ridiculous... it's ridiculous to worry about an equipment violation affecting her insurance premiums. Surely even in MA getting cited for an expired inspection sticker doesn't put points on your license or put something in your record the insurance companies can use to affect your rates.
I agree with your suggested fix... it should be winner-take-all. If you win it costs nothing but your investment of time. If you lose, you pay the original fine plus the filing fee. There would probably also be a middle ground, in which they offer you some sort of deal involving paying something in return for either a reduced charge that has no ill effects on insurance and license points. This would probably be have a higher take-rate with people who received moving violations.
What next, a voting tax?
Access to a fair and impartial legal system should be free.
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