Posted on 04/03/2015 10:05:56 PM PDT by Ken H
Decline in speeding ticket revenue throughout Nevada threatens the state judicial budget.
Nevada courts are out of cash because police are not writing enough speeding tickets. State Supreme Court Chief Justice James W. Hardesty sounded the warning before the state Joint Subcommittee on General Government on March 11, telling lawmakers that the coffers are running dry at an alarming rate.
"We thought the decline would be about three or so percent," Justice Hardesty explained. "We budgeted for a five percent decline in the budget that the governor recommended. We now believe based on the numbers we're seeing that the decline will actually be ten percent. This is a serious problem, not only for the Supreme Court's budget, but also for those budgets in the state general fund that are supported by administrative assessments."
In 2010, 615,267 traffic and parking tickets were issued statewide. This dropped to just 484,913 last year. The 21 percent reduction in revenue is hitting the courts hard.
"We probably will be close to 400,000 in 2015," Justice Hardesty told committee members. "I mean this is the concern that all of us together, senator, need to address.... With all due respect to the citizens of Nevada, I don't think anyone is driving better. I think the truth is, we're seeing less traffic violations because law enforcement's priorities have changed dramatically."
The judicial branch spends $51 million each year to operate, with all but $20 million coming from the state general fund. Roughly the same amount, $21 million, pays the salaries of the state's justices and judges. The chief justice believes paying judges out of traffic fines is the wrong way to fund the courts.
"The Supreme Court is the one who's encouraging people to violate the law so we have enough money to operate," Justice Hardesty observed. "That seems like an oxymoron. I would urge the legislature to give serious consideration to changing the manner by which the Supreme Court is funded."
The chief justice told lawmakers that it was their constitutional duty to fund the courts and that the $1.4 million budgetary shortfall should be paid from the general fund, instead of encouraging more ticket-writing statewide.
"If this issue is not addressed before May 1, the court will not have sufficient cash to operate," Justice Hardesty warned. "Do you want me to close the judicial branch of government at the state level on May 1? ...If we don't fix this problem, the Supreme Court will be broke in the next biennium."
Traffic tickets are all about safety, not revenue. They told us so. For the last 60 years.
Always? No.
I know that industry. In fact all of our major airports are ringed by thousands of cabs drivin by Muslims/Mid-Easterners...Circling around and around.
What could possibly go wrong?
The vast majority of speed limits are set by political process rather than following the design limits, or even the M-85 rule (85% of traffic travels at or below this speed).
I don’t know where you live, but in my city, the powers that be have LOWERED the speed limits on many key thoroughfares. Streets that have been travelled for literally generations at 30 mph have suddenly been re-regulated to 25 mph.
Do the math, FRiend.
Cut the mother-effing courts’ budgets then. Starting with an across the board salary cut on the judges.
Jeez. That’s what every other normal business has to do.
There’s an interesting idea for a civil obediance effort to send a message to the govt.
If Nevada is full of good drivers, maybe they need fewer judges
If ticket revenue is down 10%, then they need to reduce speed limits by 10% to compensate.
The stretch of road South of Las Vegas is a great spot for Nevada law enforcement. I once saw some 10 or so police units writing up speeders just south of the South Pointe Casino. It looked like a citation writing convention.
I gather they had the aircraft up.
“Wouldn’t the whole court system have to shut down within a year?”
That happened around here. They reset the speed limits 10 mph lower on various well traveled routes and set up continuous speed traps. When the red light cameras fell short of the projected revenue they reset the yellow timing to the shortest allowable, three seconds. In all diligence you can follow the law and they will still find a way to fine you. My county has a budget item, $500,000 from “code enforcement.” What if nobody violates the codes? The answer is there are so many codes you are in violation at least 15 minutes of every day.
My town here in NJ just put up a bunch of “no turn on red signs” all over the place; while I understand that at some busy intersections with a lot of foot traffic, many others are in bizarre, quiet places.
Remember the whole uproar when NYC cops stopped writing tickets because of DeBlasio’s community activism against the NYPD? I hope people paid attention, and realized how much the city was dependent on that revenue.
In the NYC metro area it is more about parking tickets than speeding, because an actual traffic stop in an urban area can precipitate a hail of gunfire.
Foot traffic? That’s no excuse to limit vehicular freedom.
Gotta maintain the judicial industrial complex.
I understand the Ferguson police chief is available. He should be able to teach them all they need to know about boosting revenue from tickers and citations.
Yep, that’s the problem with using fines to pay for government. What appends when everyone obeys the law?
Maybe they need fewer judges who work harder.
If it were me, I would implement a program of tickets for public drunkenness. That Is send the cops to the streets with drunk kits and then write tickets. Las Vegas and Reno would at least have an increase in fines collected
Since jail is not the way to treat tourists, a stiff fine and warning should do the job
Then, they’ll create more laws that are impossible to obey. See Ayn Rand.
“Did you really think we want those laws observed?” said Dr. Ferris. “We want them to be broken. You’d better get it straight that it’s not a bunch of boy scouts you’re up against... We’re after power and we mean it. . . There’s no way to rule innocent men. The only power any government has is the power to crack down on criminals. Well, when there aren’t enough criminals one makes them. One declares so many things to be a crime that it becomes impossible for men to live without breaking laws. Who wants a nation of law-abiding citizens? What’s there in that for anyone? But just pass the kind of laws that can neither be observed nor enforced or objectively interpreted – and you create a nation of law-breakers – and then you cash in on guilt. Now that’s the system, Mr. Reardon, that’s the game, and once you understand it, you’ll be much easier to deal with.”
— in “Atlas Shrugged” (1957)
Very funny!
The problem was people making right turns on red and hitting people crossing with the green in the crosswalks...
Our Police forces should not be corrupted into revenue agents with guns.
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