Few Oppose New Year's Change to Traffic Court Dates
Law aimed at keeping police officers out of court is widely supported
Capital News Service Drivers who want to dispute their traffic tickets will have to speak up come Jan. 1, when a new law aimed at saving the police time and money will eliminate automatically assigned court dates for minor traffic violations. Instead, drivers accused of speeding or not-exactly-stopping at those stop signs will have three options: pay the full fine; ask for a waiver hearing in lieu of a trial; or request a court date for a trial. Proponents say the new measure will help reduce the number of police officers being stood up by ticketed drivers in District Court. Elena Russo, spokeswoman for the Maryland State Police, said the new process will better identify those drivers who truly wish to contest their traffic violations in …
