Daily Blast: Philadelphia Traffic Court Room A

On Wednesday, September 15th at 1:30pm inside the Philadelphia Traffic Court Room “A” did something only in Philadelphia happen.

An Hispanic man (who has been living 10 years in Philadelphia without a Visa or citizenship) was serving a violation of driving without a license.

The Spanish speaking individual (who required a translator) asked the judge why he was required to appear in court instead of just paying the fine.  “Because you can spend up to 90 days in prison for driving without a license, and face deportation for not having a VISA,” -the judge stated.

The illegal knew he was guilty and willing to pay his fine, but was only required to pay court costs of $7?  The court files also stated that this person had the same charge back in 2003.

Then came my turn to walk up, as the judge read my file and asked me to plead my case.  “Your honor I wasn’t speeding, the police officer obviously needed to write a ticket because he even accused me of my breath of smelling like alcohol, and I had no drinks!” – I desperately stated.   The judge then silenced me stating that his plea was to remove my points,  requiring me to pay the fine of $185 plus the court costs of $7.  I knew I was not guilty, but simply a victim of the system.

So why would the judge make such a inconsistent decision?

Do you have your own traffic court story?  (if so send your story to dailyblast@onlyinphiladelphia.com)