In prior years, asking for a reduction in the amount of a traffic
ticket meant filing a request in person at the courthouse or even
appearing before a judge. A new online tool, MyCitations,
offered by a growing number of courts is not only saving
litigants a trip to the courthouse, but it’s also saving them
money.
MyCitations is
an online tool that allows low-income individuals with traffic
infraction violations to request a reduction in their fines and
fees without going to the courthouse. Other options
available to users are a payment plan, additional time to pay, or
community service. Launched in 2019, the program has already
assisted 50,000 litigants, as nearly six out of every ten court
filings in California are infractions, and more than 95% of those
are traffic cases.
Also, the MyCitations
report contains results from an evaluation of the
program’s pilot period, which included seven courts and ran from
April 2019 through July 2021. That evaluation found that cases
granted a reduction had a 61% success rate for full repayment,
while cases denied reductions had only a 29% success rate.
Additionally, the report analyzed the number of requests made in
court via the paper form against the number of online requests
made during the same period.
Since the start of 2023, nine additional California superior
courts have come on board, bringing the total to 25 using the
online tool. The 25 courts are Amador, Fresno, Humboldt,
Imperial, Lassen, Merced, Modoc, Mono, Monterey, Nevada, Placer,
San Benito, San Francisco, San Joaquin, San Luis Obispo, San
Mateo, Santa Clara, Santa Cruz, Shasta, Sierra, Siskiyou,
Trinity, Tulare, Ventura and Yolo. The 33 remaining superior
courts are expected to start using the tool by July 2024. The
Judicial Council also plans to expand the functions available
with the MyCitations tool to provide litigants with more options
to do business with the courts remotely. For additional
information and to read the entire article please click
here.
