Sonoma County court officials favor traffic fine relief

It all started with a drunken-driving arrest. Then there was the ticket for getting behind the wheel with a suspended license.

Soon, Tyler Watson of Sebastopol had unpaid fines totaling thousands of dollars - and no hope of ever getting his license back.

So this week, Watson, 38, walked into Sonoma County traffic court asking for help. The judge offered him a payment plan but warned he must stay off the road until his debt is settled.

“The system takes hold of you and squeezes you until all the lifeblood is out of you,” said Watson, a professional tree trimmer, as he left court. “It’s not right.”

Some lawmakers and the state’s chief justice, Tani Cantil-Sakauye, agree.

They are proposing separate measures that could reduce state-set traffic fines - long considered among the highest in the nation - and prevent license suspensions that hit the poor hardest. A study found unpaid tickets and failure to appear in court led to 4.2 million license suspensions from 2006 to 2013.

Senate Bill 185 promises to change that, allowing judges to cut fines up to 80 percent for single adults earning less than $31,000 a year. It would also automatically reinstate licenses for drivers who come into court and ask to be put on payment plans.

The bill is being considered in the Assembly after passing the Senate in May by a 34-6 vote.

“Large fines for minor traffic infractions force many people to go into debt and lose their driver’s licenses, and that can result in them losing their jobs,” said the bill’s author, state Sen. Bob Hertzberg, D-Van Nuys. “That’s a punishment that doesn’t fit the offense.”

At the same time, Cantil-Sakauye is recommending the decriminalization of minor violations, such as running red lights or failing to use turn signals, allowing the matters to be handled in civil court. More serious offenses such as drunken driving would remain misdemeanors.

The proposal is expected to cut fines now laden with an assortment of unrelated fees that have pushed the $35 base fine for a stop sign violation to $238.

The goal, the chief justice said at a May meeting of the Judicial Council, is to be reasonable and ensure fines are not “unduly burdensome on the poor.”

That’s a concern in Sonoma County, where police agencies handed out more than 17,600 tickets since Jan. 1. Over the same period, fines have gone unpaid in more than 2,700 cases, said Cindia Martinez, the superior court’s assistant executive officer.

Commissioner Anthony Wheeldin, who presides over the county’s traffic court, said he has used his discretion to drop certain penalties, like the $90 he cuts from the initial $490 carpool lane violation.

But his hands are tied to do much more. He assigns payment plans and volunteer work to most who ask. All others have to pay.

“The Legislature created this unfortunate situation,” Wheeldin said. “It was an easy way to fund matters unrelated to traffic. I don’t think anyone would disagree that the fines are too high.”

That’s especially true of the people lined up outside his courtroom on an overcast day this week.

Zack Murphy, a Santa Rosa contractor, was hoping to catch a break on the $350 ticket he got from a CHP officer when his truck tire inched over the double-yellow line while he maneuvered at a stoplight.

“It’s ridiculous,” said Murphy, 41.

He stood in line next to Dino Sideris of Petaluma, who got a nearly $300 ticket for driving 37 mph in a 25 mph zone. Sideris, who is retired from the building trade, brought his tax returns to show he couldn’t afford to pay that much.

“When you’re on a fixed income like I am it really hurts,” said Sideris, 61.

Many wondered where all the money was going. A sign on the wall provided a breakdown of the 10 fees attached to a stop sign violation that go to pay for things such courthouse construction and a state DNA program.

Manveer Sandhu of Santa Rosa, who hoped to receive leniency for his $490 carpool ticket, expressed frustration.

“It’s excessive,” said the 36-year-old winemaker. “I’ve got a family with kids. I’m on a thin margin at home.”

You can reach Staff Writer Paul Payne at 707-568-5312 or paul.payne@pressdemocrat.com. ?On Twitter @ppayne.