TDCAA Community
There ought to be a law.....

This topic can be found at:
https://tdcaa.infopop.net/eve/forums/a/tpc/f/157098965/m/244100389

October 14, 2005, 14:56
Lisa Peterson
There ought to be a law.....
When the court costs are higher than the top fine allowed for an offense, something is wrong! What do the rest of you do with Reckless Driving (max $200 & 30 days)? Costs are $249, minimum, more if we end up with a warrant.

Any suggestions?
October 14, 2005, 16:50
Larry L
One way might be to use a pre-trial diversion program where the fee is limited - but then you have no conviction. You could also try giving the defendant the option of "laying out" his costs by spending a weekend in jail (depending on your county). To me this is not really a solution, since the county spends the $ on the jail, and does not receive the actual $ for the court costs. I've run into this issue, but it does not seem like there has been much (any?) legislative interest in changing things. Of course it is generally the legislature that has continued to add fees for any number of things that have bumped up the court costs to where they are now.