Traffic court changes course to get its cash

Mar, 14, 2006
Robert Moran, Inquirer Staff Writer
The Philadelphia Inquirer

Topics: Economy and Jobs, State Campaigns

An astounding quarter-billion dollars may be owed to the Philadelphia Traffic Court, and the institution, widely loathed by drivers, is rolling out some changes in hopes of collecting a chunk of that cash.

For certain, about 160,000 motorists are in default and owe $107 million - money ripe for the taking if the court can find the drivers or persuade them to comply.

The court began recently to automatically schedule court dates for ticketed drivers - who could previously ignore mailed notices and put a case in limbo - and find them guilty in their absence if they fail to respond.

In the next few months, the court will begin to send information on motorists who have defaulted on payment plans to a credit-reporting bureau.

Soon, the court will have at least one van prowling the city's neighborhoods with a $75,000 computer system that scans the license plates of parked cars. Software will automatically determine whether a vehicle is operated by a scofflaw, and a boot crew will immobilize it.

And the court is developing a program that could list on the Internet the names of the scofflaws and the amounts they owe.

Court officials, eager to tap the gold mine of uncollected millions, say they are excited about their latest efforts. And they hope illegal drivers will feel the pressure to finally deal with their unpaid tickets.

"Once they come in on a payment plan, they come off the Auto Vu [license-plate software], they come off the bench warrants, they come off the police file," said Robert T. DeEmilio, deputy court administrator of the Traffic Court.

Court officials say drivers who believe that they have been incorrectly targeted can write the court a letter explaining the situation and the court will review their records. For identify theft and inaccurate identifications, tickets now indicate how the driver's name was obtained, such as from an official ID card or verbally.

Every few years, the Traffic Court announces a crackdown to try to collect the massive accumulation of fines and fees that are ignored by dismissive drivers.

Some of the efforts were publicity stunts that backfired, while others proved effective, such as the city's Live Stop program, which impounded vehicles of illegal drivers.

The changes keep coming because the court is a cash cow. The court's budget was $4.6 million in the last fiscal year. That same year, it collected and disbursed $22.8 million to the city's general fund and to the state for highway-related purposes.

Over the years, a problem for the court has been ticketed drivers who fail to respond to court notices. Although their licenses got suspended and bench warrants for their arrests were issued, the drivers could play a cat-and-mouse game with authorities and never pay up.

At the end of last year, there were 461,545 citations issued from March 1989 through 2005 representing potential revenue of nearly $100 million stuck in limbo because the tickets were not adjudicated.

Last September, the state Supreme Court allowed the city to automatically set court dates upon the issuance of a ticket. The change took effect last month.

"The main thing Traffic Court has been asking for is the defendant to appear in court," said Dominic J. Rossi, deputy administrator for the Philadelphia judicial system. "Now they don't have a choice."

So when a police officer writes a ticket, a court date eight to nine weeks later will be set. If there is a scheduling conflict, it is up to the driver to notify the court and obtain a different date.

Drivers could still decide not to show up. In that case, the court could decide to have a hearing in absentia. A judge would review the citations, and possibly ask questions of a police liaison officer assigned to the court. If everything appears in order, the judge could find the defendant guilty.

In cases where a defendant could face jail time - such as operating a vehicle with a suspended license after a drunken-driving conviction - a hearing in absentia would not be held, Rossi said. Instead, bench warrants would be issued for their arrest.

The court already has 421,000 outstanding bench warrants, with many for repeat violators, DeEmilio said.

Nearly $153 million in tickets have been ruled guilty, and more than $45 million worth are under payment plans, court records show. That leaves $107 million in default.

One approach to get delinquent drivers to come forward will be to report them to a credit agency, DeEmilio said.

"If they're trying to obtain a loan or credit card, it will come up on the credit check," he said.

To find violators who owe more than $250, the court will soon use a program called Auto Vu, which scans the tags of parked vehicles.

The Philadelphia Parking Authority has tested a similar program and was able to scan up to 3,000 vehicles a day, said Corrine O'Connor, an authority official. Teams now manually check license plates and average 1,200 a day. The Parking Authority hopes to have the program running on a regular basis this summer.

In a letter, Philadelphia Court Administrator Joseph A. Cairone said the court system is preparing to post on a Web site "all defendants who are delinquent in their payment obligations, and the amount owed."

But he noted that court officials are working to ensure that privacy concerns are addressed. Rossi said the court may list all defendants, or limit the information to a name search, or even make the information accessible only to the particular driver.

Larry Frankel, legislative director for the ACLU of Pennsylvania, said that court records can be inaccurate and that posting wrong information could harm innocent people.

"People already lose jobs because of inaccurate information in government records," he said.

Motorists also could be subject to harassment if their names are publicized.

"All that has to be thought through before they go ahead," Frankel said.

Contact staff writer Robert Moran at 215-854-5983 or bmoran@phillynews.com.

Copyright 2002-2007 The Philadelphia Inquirer. Used with permission.
 
 
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