LV municipal court ends ticket moratorium

Dan Kulin and Judy Odierna

Wednesday, Nov. 27, 2002 | 11:23 a.m.

For more than 15 years motorists who were slow to take care of their Las Vegas traffic tickets could count on a holiday-season break from the city's Municipal Court to pay their tickets without being charged warrant and late fees.

But not this year.

Thinking that some people might be putting off paying old tickets until the next traffic court moratorium, Las Vegas Court Administrator James Carmany said the court decided there will be no holiday season moratorium this year.

"We get calls now from people asking when does the moratorium start," Carmany said Tuesday. "People may work the system to avoid paying the fees. ... Why are they asking if they're not waiting?"

Carmany said if someone ended up with a warrant and late fees for unpaid traffic tickets, paying off the citations during a moratorium could save them $100 to $600.

Tracey Williams, 30, of North Las Vegas, who was at Las Vegas City Hall at 7:30 this morning to pay a speeding ticket, said he was shocked that the amnesty had been canceled this year.

"I never used it, but it could have helped this year," Williams said. "At least they could have made it shorter, like one day, instead of cutting it off completely."

Williams found that he had to pay $100 to get his ticket placed on the court calendar and another $100 for traffic school, some of which might have been saved with the amnesty program.

Joe Sampson, 53, of Las Vegas, who was at City Hall this morning to show proof of insurance to clear up a citation, said the city was being a Scrooge by ending the program this year.

"It helped some people," Sampson said. "All (the amnesty) was doing was removing the threat element and allowing people to come in and pay. The bottom line is to come in and pay the ticket."

The moratorium may return at a later date, but Carmany said first he wants to complete a study to see if a moratorium hurts court revenues and whether some people are "working the system," he said.

"Part of the issue is that the moratorium has been going so long, we don't know the original intent, whether it was to close cases, increase revenue, or was a Christmas present from the court," Carmany said. "So I recommended we postpone it and look at it."

Depending on what his report says, there could be no more traffic court moratoriums, or the next moratorium could be as early as March, he said.

Carmany said he hopes to have a report to the court judges, who decide whether or not to have a moratorium, by March.

Las Vegas Municipal Judge George Assad, who handles many of the amnesty cases, wants the public to know that the court follows some of the procedures set forth in the amnesty program year round.

"We still want to extend the Christmas spirit to citizens, but we also want them to resolve their tickets," Assad said. "We waive warrents and fines throughout the year. We want to encourage people to come into court and take care of their obligations and we will work with them."

About 5,000 people paid off their traffic citations during last holiday season's moratorium, which lasted from Dec. 17 to Jan. 31, Carmany said. About 78,000 people paid citations last year, he said.

Las Vegas Councilman Gary Reese said he didn't know the court was going to put off the program but could be in favor ending it.

"I'd like to see the ramifications," Reese said. "How much money could we have collected? How much money are we losing by giving amnesty and how much would we be gaining? In my circles I have always said if you do the crime you should pay the time."

Municipal courts in North Las Vegas and Henderson are offering their own versions of holiday season moratoriums this year. Officials from both courts said they haven't see the type of problem Carmany described in their courts.

But the North Las Vegas moratorium, which runs through Dec. 22, doesn't offer to forgive any fees. Instead the North Las Vegas court lets people wanted on traffic and other minor crime warrants schedule a new court date without fear of being arrested on the spot.

North Las Vegas Municipal Judge Warren VanLandschoot said the court studied the issue and decided to offer an annual amnesty.

"It puts a lot of strain on the infrastructure, but it clears up a lot of warrants and gets a lot of people back on their feet," VanLandschoot said. "People are afraid to come down and ask us (about a warrant). When they know the amnesty is here, they will at least walk in and talk to us.

"What good does it do if we just leave it in as a warrant?"

The Henderson Municipal Court moratorium is similar to the Las Vegas moratoriums of the past, in that motorists are given the chance to pay their outstanding traffic tickets without having to pay warrant or late fees.

But unlike the Las Vegas program of past years, the Henderson moratorium does not happen around the same time each year, or even every year. The last two Henderson moratoriums were in March 2001 and February 1999, Court Administrator David Hayward said.

This year's Henderson moratorium runs Dec. 2 to Dec. 20.

"It's good sense for the court, and it is beneficial to the community," said Henderson Municipal Judge John Provost. "No one wants to drive around, particularly during the holiday season, knowing they have an outstanding warrant and if they get stopped they could go to jail."