THE CAPTAIN REPORTS:
MY DRIVER'S LICENSE IS SUSPENDED YOU SAY ..... TIME FOR A CHANGE, WE SAY .....
There are approximately 1,800,000 drivers that are licensed to operate a motor vehicle in Miami-Dade County. Of that number, 550,000 have a SUSPENDED LICENSE. You did not read that incorrectly. Nearly 3 out of every 10 drivers on the road are breaking the law everyday in our "Magic City".
The Miami Herald wrote a story and you can read all about it here.
What can we do about this problem? Change the law. What is causing all of these suspensions? Is it because of unsafe driving? NO. Amazingly, 77% of all those persons that have a suspended license, have it because they failed to pay a ticket or a fine on time. Traffic tickets, court costs, and child support payments are the main culprit of this disease. The remaining 23% of the suspended drivers' licenses' are because of actual bad driving issues.
Judge Leifman said it well: “We’re putting an additional tax burden on a group of individuals that can’t afford it,” Leifman said. It’s “criminalizing their behavior when all they did was commit a civil infraction and didn’t have the money to pay it.”
The cycle begins when someone gets a traffic citation and then does not pay that ticket within the thirty days as required by law. They get pulled over at some later point, (usually for something as minor as a burnt out tail light) and the result is that they can be arrested for Driving With a Suspended License (DWLS). Now the arresting officer is going to spend the next several hours of their shift booking someone who essentially is being jailed because they couldn't afford the original citation. So, now the person has a new court date for that DWLS, (there license is still suspended), and now the Judge piles on by adding fines and court costs to the no contest plea of the defendant for their DWLS. And the cycle continues.
What to do?
According to the Herald story, other states have moved away from suspending licenses for not paying traffic tickets. Why not Florida, why not in Miami - because it's all about the Benjamins, of course. In 2014, four collection agencies contracted by the Clerk have the job of attempting to collect the outstanding fees and costs due to the Clerk. These four companies get a 40% vig on top of what was originally owed. Last year the four collection agencies collected a whopping $19 million dollars for the Clerk's office, providing these four companies with $7.5 million in fees.
Because of the large amount of money coming in like it does, the State Legislature funds the Clerk's office with less money. So there is no way that the Clerks' offices want to change the system and forego having a license suspended when someone fails to simply pay a traffic citation. It is a vicious cycle.
It seems like FACDL's statewide lobbying group should get together with an elected legislator, say maybe State House Rep Katie Edwards, and get a bill through the legislature that can effect positive change. It is simply insane to keep doing the same thing over and over and not try something new and different when there are more than a half-million drivers in Miami-Dade County alone who have a suspended license.
RED LIGHT CAMERA UPDATE ......
Judge Leifman informs us that he hopes to have an ORDER prepared by the end of the month - I assume he meant August - of 2015.
.......
JUDGE LEIFMAN WINS ANOTHER AWARD .....
And, speaking of Judge Leifman, according to crack reporter Julie Kay at the DBR, Leifman is moving on up in the world. You can read the entire story here. Congrats to Judge Leifman - well deserved.
"Steven Leifman, associate administrative judge of the Miami-Dade County Court criminal division, has been named the National Center for State Courts' recipient of the William H. Rehnquist Award for Judicial Excellence. U.S. Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts Jr. will present the award to Leifman during a ceremony at the U.S. Supreme Court in Washington on Nov. 19."
"Leifman is being recognized for his groundbreaking work helping mentally ill people in the criminal justice system."
Congrats to Judge Leifman - well deserved.
It's just way too hot outside - time for a dip in the:
CAPTAIN OUT .......
Captain4Justice@gmail.com
38 comments:
Wrong! They are not being arrested because they failed to pay a ticket. They are being arrested because after not complying with a ticket(s), they get stopped yet again as they continue to drive (knowingly, as per DMV notice letter) on a suspended license. Take away the threat of jail then even more people will fail to comply with the law. Why pay a ticket if there is no serious consequence? It's actually the perfect vice tax; collect money from law breakers.
Don't do the crime if you can't do the time / Don't do it / TAKE THE BUS
The collection agency end of this deal is a scam and no doubt has its roots in corruption. When your license is suspended for nonpayment you are extorted by the clerks office and the D.M.V. When you pay they give you back your license. So what is the collection criminals role in this except collecting %40 free money. Do away with the collection Co.s and you still have to pay the clerk whatever they tell you in order to get it back, the difference is that poor people aren't "vigged" to the tune of %40. I've never seen or heard of anyone being collected by any of these thieves. You visit the clerks at any of a # of locations either physically or by computer and the clerks office tells you who to pay. There is no doubt that these collection agencies are paying off someone in order to get the right to collect the vig. This should be an easy investigation for any competent law enforcement agency.
We are all tired of waiting for Judge Leifman to rule. What's the big fucking deal. If the agency followed the procedure that was illegal under a single binding case from a DCA, there is no issue. The tickets must be dismissed. Pardo v. State.
If the agency changed their procedure, and some have and now have a government person issuing the tickets, then, the are not dismissable FROM THE TIME THEY CHANGED THEIR PROCEDURES.
Most of us think Steve Leifman is simply dragging his feet so government can collect more money. He's a glorified collection agency with a robe. Nice guy, but, he and Slom live to make the State money.
A "TAMMER"---great Judge, no black robe fever----------ANTI_TAMMER- A person wearing a black robe who is unable to make a living in private practice, has no business judging except for a hypened last name and thinks very highly of themselves when no one else does. And who has a fatal case of black robe fever.
Unfortunately it is always about the cash, especially in Miami. We have those idiotic "Lexus Lanes" on I95 which are protected by plastic poles. So what happens? The lanes are almost always closed because of accidents, usually caused by the claustrophobic nature of those lanes and the idiots cutting through the poles. Common sense says remove them as they have slowed traffic,not speeded it up. Reality says "not with all the cash it brings in." Unbelievable!
Decriminalize DWLS?
Please pay your delinquent tickets, pretty please.
Who wrote this article? Bernie Sanders?
How do you spell "Miami"? C-A-S-H
this is exactly what our moron republican legislators want--a system in which they cut property taxes on rich homeowners and screw over poor people with these tickets and use the fines and penalties to finance government operations.
anyone out there who is a republican--look in the mirror, you caused this kind of government. hope you are proud of yourselves
10:45, when you try to stop renting your studio in Little Havana and try to buy a house, but you can't afford it because the property taxes are stupid high, you will let go of your Marxist/communist fantasy that property taxes have been cut on anyone, much less the rich. You obviously don't own a home.
I like Judge Leifman personally and he does try but anyone who has to go to the psych floor at DCJ or has to deal with felony mental health clients would probably ask what exactly has he done to help these clients. We don't even have a Mental Health Court yet. Even Broweird has one - think about that.
It's a scam. Someone is getting kickbacks from the collection agencies. If the 40% "collection fee" equals $7.5 million, doesn't it make more sense for the Clerk's Office to hire, lets say, 50 people as in house "collectors" at $30,000.00 per year - this would be $1.5 million in salaries per year, lets say the overhead, computer system, etc. is another million per year. THE CLERK'S OFFICE WOULD NET FIVE MILLION DOLLARS ($5,000,000.00) PER YEAR. Come on this is not rocket science. Why would you give away $5 million per year??? Inquiring minds want to know.
Shumie time for the DL scam. Tonight at the Ren (a venue) 7 to close half price well drinks for everyone with a valid Dl. Free first drink if you have a d-6
Why is Liefman even ruling on this motion? The Fourth has ruled. Move on.
829am
I actually own a home. I think it could fit your home inside of it.
Also its Marxist/Lenninst not Marxist/Communist
go back to reading your Ayn Rand books and watching Fox News
Connecticut becomes the latest state to abolish the death penalty on grounds that it is unconstitutional. How much longer before Florida joins in. Less and less juries are recomnending it. So much time spent death qualifying juries. So much money spent on endless appeals. Isn't it about time to end this barbarism? It will never be a deterrent.
Can someone cover for me, permanently?
8:29 , property taxes are less than 1% of the total value of my home. For that I get Metro police & firefighters / rescue, WASA, and County / municipal services . Stop complaining about bs
The reason the Clerk's Office gives the money over to the collection agencies is because the collection agencies "buy" the fines for a fraction of the actual worth of the ticket. I thought I saw a county in North Florida that sells the fines for about 40 cents on the dollar. The Clerk's Office gets the reduced money right away, and the collection agency collects the full amount of the ticket plus the vig. It's the biggest money maker ever for the collection agencies. They buy up all the Dade County tickets, then wait for the drivers to pay them off. Inevitably they get paid off unless the driver moves away or dies.
Other than the awards he gets from mental health advocates, and being a mostly pleasant fellow, Leifman hasn't done much to distinguish himself as a judge/jurist. This red light issue is the first time he's had to do anything "judgey". So, he knows it's going to be appealed and he wants to be sure his ducks are in a row before he puts his signature on the order. He'll be affirmed as long as he tracks the 4DCA ruling and the facts are the same (which they are). They've already changed their procedures to comply. Kick the tickets and move on.
Note to Leifman: Don't be afraid that Hector Lombana will run a hyphen against you. We all get a red light ticket now and then.
Ooh... My house is bigger than your house, na na na na boo boo. That's what you came up with? Very liberal/progressive of you. Bravo
Unless the USSC declares the death penalty unconstitutional, Florida will be one of the last states to abolish the death penalty, if ever, just before the eminently enlightened states of Texas, Mississippi and Alabama.
Financial reports are in
Group 9
Jason Bloch - 86k
Marcia del Rey - 71.5k***
Group 34
Renee Gordon 0
Denise Martinez-Scanziani - 1.5k
Group 39
David Young - 127k
Group 52
Jodie Breece - 117k
Elena Ortega-Tauler - 0
Raul Alberto Perez-Ceballos - 11k
Oscar Rodriguez-Font - 4k
*** Every single donation to del Rey is for $1,000 except for two $250 donations. This would be suspicious enough but the occupation of her contributors makes it clear that someone should be investigating violations of campaign finance laws. Since when can beauticians, students, hotel clerks, bank tellers, and makeup artists afford $1000 donations to judicial candidates? Even lawyers rarely give hat much to judges who they expect to appear in front of. It looks like del Rey's rich daddy may be funding her campaign. Does anyone care the del Reys make there money from running by the hour hotels where human trafficking and adultery occur hourly?
Where is the hotel? I may want to check in!!
A woman visiting her boyfriend in MetroWest this week left her baby sitting in the car outside in the heat. A corrections officer smashed the window and the child was literally hosed down to cool it off.
I hope the mom now resides in MetroWest. Even better would be an un-air-conditioned cell.
Adultery? really no one cares about what consenting adults do behind closed doors....except those who cannot do what they are doing (namely republicans). If human trafficking goes on there, which you have done nothing more than make an accusation under the veil of anonymity without any proof of, then it IS an issue which should be brought to light, but Adultery...really? Lets bring back punishment by wearing a Scarlet "A" on your chest for the adulterers...get a life.
And to those who wish to continue to criminalize driving after not paying a traffic ticket, I say we criminalize being an idiot, pompous anus, and/or Santorum...your cell awaits you.
Rump, Why didn't you put up my Leifman/Red Light Ruling post? I don't think it violated any of your rules.
Someone please run against David Young.
The Captain Reports:
We just received a email about Judge Wilson and it was just so touching that I wanted to post in the current Comments section instead of the one on the Wilson post. Here it is:
I would pass Judge Wilson every morning in North Grove walking his dog with 1 of his healthcare companions. Never knew his name but he always acknowledged me and made an endearing comment about my Golden Retriever. I started to notice his absence recently and started to ask other walkers if they knew him and a lady told me that he had died. I had never formally introduced myself but felt a connection to this man. He always had a smile on his face and was so kind in such a brief passing. I hope my brief encounters with this unknown stranger stays with me. I felt he had a lot to share. I miss our passing each morning. RIP to my "unknown friend".
Nan Lichty and her dog, Scout.
Cap Out .....
adultery is not illegal
4:33 p.m. , adultery is illegal but the law is rarely enforced. Last arrest I heard of was by officer Corzo of MDPD of a couple doing adultery in a car:
Chapter 798
ADULTERY; COHABITATION
798.01 Living in open adultery.—Whoever lives in an open state of adultery shall be guilty of a misdemeanor of the second degree, punishable as provided in s. 775.082 or s. 775.083. Where either of the parties living in an open state of adultery is married, both parties so living shall be deemed to be guilty of the offense provided for in this section.
Bloch needs to go. He is absolutely incompetent in criminal court. he thinks that defense attorneys should be ready at arraignment to go to trial.
In Miami-Dade, Clerk's Office gets full amount of fine. Collection agency gets 40% and sends back 5% to Clerk's Office.
License cannot be revoked without ones knowledge. It happens when the cops find out about the unpaid tickets or penalties. Driving with a suspended license Florida is never ever genuine.
You must work for the dmv asshole!
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Kudos!
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