Pleading in the Night : Ticket Recipients, Officials Bank on Saving Time and Money at Evening Traffic Court

A bathroom faucet in Sherman Oaks has stopped dripping and an Encino family is taking hot showers again because Darrel Anderson opted for night traffic court.

Anderson, a Sherman Oaks plumber, repaired the leaking faucet and replaced a water heater instead of going to traffic court during the day Wednesday. After work, still clad in his somewhat grimy uniform, Anderson drove to the San Fernando Courthouse and pleaded guilty to riding an unregistered motorcycle with no rear-view mirror.

“I figure I saved myself $300 or $400 in wages and helped some customers out by working today instead of wasting a whole morning off the job,” said Anderson, 26. “Night court is better than waiting around a long time during the day.”

Los Angeles County Municipal Court officials also are banking on saving time and money through the San Fernando branch’s night traffic court. Begun in February with one courtroom as part of an effort to relieve clogged court dockets, the program was expanded last week to include a second courtroom for at least five weeks.

Illustrating the need for expansion, the number of cases heard in San Fernando’s night court Wednesday--177--was more than double the 86 heard the evening of Feb. 25, when the program made its debut.

Aimed at Reducing Backlog

Officials say the expansion is a temporary measure to help reduce the court’s backlog, but if it is successful, they will continue the second courtroom.

“I’m almost confident the extra night court will be permanent,” said George W. Trammel, presiding judge of Los Angeles Municipal Court. “We’ve gotten to the point where we can’t process traffic tickets efficiently during the day.”

Trammel said San Fernando’s daytime arraignment court has become choked with cases because police are handing out more citations in the area.

From July, 1986, to May, 1987, law enforcement officers wrote about 14,115 more traffic tickets--a 28% increase--than during the same months the previous year, in which 50,233 tickets were issued.

Also contributing to the logjam is an increase of about 1,385 in the number of criminal cases filed in the San Fernando court from July, 1986, to May, 1987, compared to 7,725 in the same period the year before, Trammel said.

“We’re saving taxpayers’ dollars by using existing courtrooms at night instead of sinking big money into new buildings or hiring more judges,” Trammel said.

13 Night Courts

The San Fernando facility is one of 13 night courts in the Los Angeles judicial district, Trammel said. Five of those hear traffic cases, and some settle small claims and civil cases, too. The district includes courthouses in San Fernando, Van Nuys, downtown Los Angeles, San Pedro and West Los Angeles.

A 1974 California law requires a Municipal Court district with four or more judges in a county with a population of at least 2 million to establish at least one night traffic court a week.

At the San Fernando court, most personnel work the evening hours for compensatory time off and do not receive overtime pay, Trammel said. When they do get overtime, it is financed by $1 set aside from each traffic fine collected.

Municipal Judge Michael S. Luros, a frequent volunteer for San Fernando night court duty, said the county also saves money through the program because fewer arrest warrants are issued. Arrest warrants, issued when people fail to appear in court by the date listed on the ticket, cost the county at least $100 each, Luros said.

At night court, there are fewer no-shows because the 6-to-9 p.m. hours do not conflict with daytime work hours, Luros said.

Most Fines Paid by Mail

Not everyone who receives a traffic ticket has to appear in court. Most fines are paid through the mail, said Peggy Shuttleworth, chief of the clerks’ operation for the San Fernando Valley division of the district. Those who must appear in court are people who want to plead innocent, guilty with an explanation or have received a ticket for an offense that mandates a court appearance, Shuttleworth said.

Driving at least 20 m.p.h. more than the speed limit, disobeying a traffic officer or driving with a license that expired more than a year ago are some of the infractions requiring a mandatory court appearance, according to the state Vehicle Code.

Anderson, the plumber, was not required to appear in court, but joined the 176 others whose cases were heard Wednesday night in hopes that the judge would go easier on them once their stories were told.

“Sometimes the judges understand when you take the time to come in and tell them you don’t want to pay any fines. In my case, I had just bought the cycle,” said Anderson, explaining why he was riding an unregistered motorcycle.

Luros and fellow Municipal Judge Aviva K. Bobb have heard a range of excuses during their night court stints.

‘I’ve Heard Them All’

“One of the most common excuses for speeding is, ‘I had to go to the bathroom,’ ” Luros said. “But I’ve heard them all, from ‘Israel attacked my country’ to ‘a truckload of coffins was chasing me.’ ”

As he listened to his rights being read over the loudspeaker, Alfonso Munguia, 34, of North Hollywood was hoping Luros would sympathize with his predicament. Munguia, an engineer, said that, while on a business trip, he was told by misinformed company managers that it was legal to park where he did.

Now Munguia sat in court, afraid that the $15 parking ticket would sully his otherwise perfect driving record.

“This is the first ticket of any kind I’ve ever gotten in 18 years of driving,” said Munguia, who pleaded guilty with an explanation. “When Reagan was governor, he sent me a letter of commendation and renewed my license for free because of my perfect record.”

Munguia’s argument apparently worked; Luros dismissed the ticket.

Missing License Plates

Vernon Sypes, 48, of Simi Valley also left the courtroom pleased. A white-haired man with a weather-beaten face, Sypes was cited for driving a vehicle without license plates.

“It wasn’t my car,” Sypes said to the judge.

“Whose was it?” Luros asked.

“My boss’s,” Sypes said.

“Who’s your boss?” the judge asked.

“The City of Los Angeles,” Sypes said as the audience tittered. “I work for the Bureau of Public Works.”

“Count dismissed,” the judge said.

Luros was not so easygoing when it came to the man who claimed he wasn’t the one caught speeding. “Someone else took my car and used my license,” the man said.

“Then how did you get your license back?” Luros said.

“Well. . . ,” the man said.

“Your plea?” the judge asked.

“Not guilty,” the man said.

“Court date set; post bail of $250,” Luros said summarily.

Comment Angers Judge

Striding out of the courtroom, the man made a mistake. He cursed under his breath, loud enough for the court to hear.

“Get back here,” the normally soft-spoken Luros shouted. “What did you say? What did you say?”

The judge instructed the man to leave the court quietly. Again, the man almost made it out the door when he cursed. Nearly dragged back into the court by the bailiffs, he was given two choices by the judge.

“We’re going to play ‘Let’s Make a Deal,’ and that’s Door No. 1,” Luros said, pointing toward the holding cell for prisoners. “You can either go through that door and come out five days later, or leave quietly through the regular exit, Door No. 2. Which is it?”

That time, the man managed to leave the courtroom quietly.

“I don’t ordinarily get that angry, but that was such a blatant lie,” Luros said of the man’s excuse. “Then I couldn’t allow him to mutter under his breath like that. It would be bad for every bench officer in the system if I let it pass.”

Disposition of Anderson’s case was not nearly so dramatic. The judge dismissed the citation after Anderson proved he had registered his motorcycle and gotten a rear-view mirror.

Scott Rogers, 19, Chatsworth

Charges: Running a red light and speeding.

Plea: Not guilty.

Comment to judge: “The policeman pulled me over because of my long hair.”

Disposition: Trial set.

Ray W. Campbell, 60, Canyon Country

Charge: Parking illegally in a courthouse parking lot.

Plea: Guilty with explanation.

Reason: “I was a juror, and the spot was not painted red or marked ‘No Parking.’ ”

Disposition: Dismissed.

Larry Steele, 21, Rosemead

Charge: Speeding (70 m.p.h. in 30-m.p.h. zone.

Plea: Guilty with explanation.

Reason: “My speedometer wasn’t working, and I was keeping up with traffic.”

Disposition: Fined $86.