Posted by
flagwaver on Saturday, July 14, 2007 8:50:58 AM
If churches are the most segregated places in
America, then the most integrated place in America has to be the local traffic
court! I know, because I just left my county’s traffic court---and let me tell
you, it was something to see. People that would normally not speak a word to
each other engage in conversations, share frustrations, and try to give each
other encouragement---all while waiting in line to see the traffic ticket
judge.
I had a nice looong conversation with a young
kid who got ticketed for not having proof of insurance after he had a wreck on
an icy road earlier this year, and I had a nice confab with a redneck an his
wife who got ticketed because the person the inspected his car punched the
sticker on the wrong year. He showed the police officer his receipt for his
inspection, but he still got the ticket and had to show up for a court date
even though he had done nothing wrong.
The thing is if the local traffic court is any
reflection of how the system generally works, there is no surprise that there
is a backlog of cases on court dockets! Take me, for example:
I was ticketed for having an expired inspection
sticker about a month ago during a license check. I got my ticket, went and had
my car inspected and waited for my court date which was for July 13, at
9:00a.m. Being the stickler for punctuality that I am, I arrive at the county
courthouse at 8:40, just to make sure that I would not be late---the last time
I was late for court, I ended up getting arrested on a bench warrant! So I get there,
fully expecting to go to a courtroom, as was printed on my citation, and what
do I see? I am confronted with a line of about 150 people snaking through the
main lobby towards the Clerk of Court office! So, silly me, I ask a deputy
there on duty where I can find courtroom 000B, since I’m supposed to be there
at 9:00;he tells me to just get in line and wait---they don’t use the
courtrooms for traffic tickets.
So there I stand, from 8:40 to 9:50 when I
finally get to the front of the line. There are 3 people in front of me; the
ADA helps the woman at the table out, and then announces that he will be taking
a 15 minute break! So there I stand for another 15 minutes, wasting valuable
minutes that I can never get back, while he goes off to have a snack and a cold
drink. After 15 minutes he comes back and I finally get to the front of the
line; he looks at my ticket, asks if I have gotten the car inspected, I give
him my receipt, and he says “Well, you’re free to go”! I spent 1 hour and 35
minutes in line for a transaction that took around 30 seconds!
And what is really galling is that I passed 2
empty courtrooms that could have been used, instead of making us all stand in
line. One of the empty courtrooms seats around 200, the other seats a little
over 100; but we had to stand in line forever because they don’t use the
courtrooms for traffic violations! Un-freaking-believable!
But I did learn one thing from my wasted
morning: This must be how people feel at big city DMV’s!