California courts may adopt an emergency rule making it easier for people to fight traffic tickets.
News Story (California)
Maura Dolan
Los Angeles Times (LA Times)
June 8, 2015
Full story
Tags: Benefits of Legal Aid, Courts, Poverty
Organizations mentioned/involved: Western Center on Law & Poverty (WCLP) (CA)
News Story (California)
Maura Dolan
Los Angeles Times (LA Times)
June 8, 2015
Full story
Tags: Benefits of Legal Aid, Courts, Poverty
Organizations mentioned/involved: Western Center on Law & Poverty (WCLP) (CA)
DETAILS
The state has added on charges that make the cost of a routine traffic ticket nearly $500, an amount that rapidly inflates when deadlines are missed. Although state courts charge people many fees — raised during the budget crisis — to use the legal system, the outcry has been loudest in the traffic arena.
Lawyers representing the poor have complained that judges in some counties have been requiring drivers to pay the fines as a condition of contesting them, a practice that California Chief Justice Tani Cantil-Sakauye called “pay to play” and vowed to stop.