Judge: Phone fine increase likely to clog courts

Finance Committee puts proposal on stall after reading Yalman's report

Julie Ann Grimm | The New Mexican

9/29/2008 - 9/30/08

A proposal to drastically increase fines for drivers who use hand-held cell phones in Santa Fe is catching enough static that it appears to have stalled in a city committee that controls money.

On Monday, the Finance Committee declined to take action on the resolution from Councilor Rebecca Wurzburger that would hike fines for illegal phoning and driving from about $60 to $250. One reason councilors balked at the plan was a report from Municipal Judge Ann Yalman about the probable effect of such a change.

Over the past two years, more than half of those ticketed for cell-phone violations have agreed to pay fines without going to court. Another 30 percent plead guilty or no contest when they get there, according to court records.

Yalman has a prediction about what will happen if fines are drastically increased.

"I will have every cell-phone user in front of me," she told the committee. "Even though it's not a mandatory appearance, they will come. Very few people will just pay that amount of money and walk away."

That scenario plays out in her courtroom for those who park in handicapped spaces. Since the fine for that is $250, many people try to fight those citations, Yalman said. On other side of the coin, few people who are found guilty of that offense repeat the infraction because of the severity of the hit to their pocketbook, she said.

Councilor Chris Calvert proposed the fees be increased only for repeat offenders, a motion that died for lack of a second.

Since no other Finance Committee members wanted to take action, Councilor Matt Ortiz, the committee chairman, said he would ask staff to research the rules of order to consider whether the resolution can move to another committee or to the full council. Ortiz is not in favor of the proposal. He called it an "obscene" increase Monday night.

Wurzburger and other backers say higher fines would encourage more people to pay attention to the oft-ignored law. Councilors considered repealing the law earlier this year, but ultimately voted against that idea.

Police have had spotty results enforcing the rules. Last year, they issued about 325 tickets. To date this year, police say they have issued more than 1,300.

Court records match those numbers for 2007, but show a big discrepancy this year. Instead of showing more than 1,000 fines, the court has processed only 613. Yalman said she could not find a good reason for the difference.

"I have questions about that," she said after the meeting.

Police Chief Eric Johnson said in a telephone interview that his data came from police records and he wasn't sure why the court numbers were not similar. He suggested citations given to people who agree to pay fines by signing the tickets might not be reflected in Municipal Court documents. Yalman said those instances are reflected in her data.

Contact Julie Ann Grimm at 986-3017 or jgrimm@sfnewmexican.com.