Traffic Court Scandal Cause For Outrage

From Pennsylvanians for Modern Courts:

Pennsylvanians should be outraged in the wake of yesterday's indictments of current and former Philadelphia Traffic Court judges and court staff. All people should be able to come to our courts with confidence that their cases will be heard by the most qualified, fair and impartial judges and decided based on the law and the facts, not the political connections of the parties

The indictments demonstrate that the culture of favoritism, entitlement and ticket-fixing has reached epidemic levels throughout the court system. In the wake of the Chadwick report, many Philadelphians were hopeful that the problem was limited to a few isolated incidents. Clearly, however, that is not the case.

Although the designation of Philadelphia Traffic Court as a “minor court,” implies that it is somehow less important than the other courts, this is far from the truth. In fact, the vast majority of contact that the general public has with the court system is through “People’s courts” such as Traffic Court or Municipal Court in Philadelphia and Magisterial District Courts in other counties. That makes it even more crucial that the business of these courts be conducted in a fair, transparent and impartial manner. Judges are not only responsible for hearing arguments, deciding cases, and sanctioning offenders. They also serve as the public face of one of our three branches of government and must uphold the integrity of the judicial system.

Scandals such as this, especially in combination with the fact that a Pennsylvania Supreme Court Justice is currently on trial for misusing taxpayer resources, undermine the public’s faith in our judiciary -- and rightly so. Judges and their staff should be held to a higher standard of behavior, and defrauding the citizens of Philadelphia and Pennsylvania is inexcusable and unacceptable.

It is time for Pennsylvanians to work together to make substantive changes to both the structure and the culture surrounding Philadelphia’s Traffic Court. In the coming weeks, Pennsylvanians for Modern Courts (PMC) will continue to take a critical look at what should be done to ensure that this will not happen again. We are talking to policymakers, lawyers, judges, and members of the community to develop innovative solutions to a difficult problem.

Yesterday's indictment of current and former Philadelphia Traffic Court judges and court staff is yet another blemish on the face of the Pennsylvania judicial system. Philadelphians deserve so much better than this deeply flawed and troubled traffic court system.