Unconstitutional at Any Speed: Municipalities Collect Millions in Illegal Fines, Abuse Constitution and Threaten National Security

 By William Grim

It's happened to every one of us or someone we know.  It's a clear night, there's no one on the highway and you get pulled over for doing five miles over the posted speed limit. You get a $75 or $100 ticket and figure it's easier just to pay it and be done with it. Besides, it's your word against the cop's, so what chance do you stand in court?

Unfortunately, at the same time you were pulled over for "speeding", only two blocks away an African-American single mother was murdered while going to her car at the end of her shift. But although it's a high crime area, there's not much traffic -- so few patrol cars ever visit the area because there aren't many opportunities to hand out traffic tickets.

In another instance, an elderly minister receives a phone call in the middle of the night. One of his parishioners has less than an hour to live and is requesting a final prayer as he leaves this mortal coil. The minister rushes to the hospital but is pulled over for doing 35mph in a 25mph zone. Although the minister explains the gravity of the situation and has clearly identifiable clergy license plates, the policeman gives him a ticket for $100 and makes the minister wait while he performs a computer check of his driver’s license and auto registration. By the time the minister gets to the hospital his parishioner has died.

On September 11, 2001 nineteen Arab terrorists hijack four commercial airliners. The terrorists crash two planes into the twin towers of the World Trade Center killing close to 3000 people; the terrorists crash another plane into the Pentagon killing over 200 people; and the heroic passengers of the fourth airliner sacrifice themselves by forcing down their plane before the terrorists can crash it into the White House. Several months later, the Immigration and Naturalization Service is embarrassed when they send a notice granting approval for a visa to the last known address of one of the nineteen long since dead Arab terrorist hijackers. The reason given for the snafu? Lack of police investigators to perform all of the required background checks for visa applications.

Incidentally, hijackers Hani Hanjour, Ziad Jarrah, and Mohammed Atta were all pulled over for speeding by police during the weeks immediately preceding the 9/11 terrorist attacks. They were all ticketed and then released. The hijackers may not have been on anyone's radar, but the cars they were driving sure were.

All three of the above scenarios are tragic and could have been avoided, or their effects could have been drastically mitigated. That they weren't is largely the result of a law enforcement culture that all too often ignores the motto "to serve and protect" and increasingly views its chief function as "revenue enhancement." And this "revenue enhancement" largely takes the form of issuing traffic tickets.

New Rome , Ohio : Massive Municipal Corruption in a Tiny Package

Although many communities throughout the United States operate speed traps where unsuspecting and law-abiding citizens receive large fines for even the most minor violations of traffic ordinances, the most egregious example may be the tiny community of New Rome, Ohio, a town so despised by motorists that it has inspired a lively internet site titled newromesucks.com. Indeed, on a per capita basis New Rome, Ohio may be the most corrupt city since Sodom and Gomorrah .

 At first glance, New Rome appears to be an unlikely candidate for its notoriety. In fact, at first glance it's easy to miss New Rome entirely, even at the posted speed limit (which the Ohio Department of Transportation has just ruled is illegal), for the land-locked Central Ohio community is only three blocks long, and depending on who is out on parole, only has between 30 and 50 residents.

Yet the town of New Rome has a police force of 14 and in the year 2001 generated $377,651 in traffic fines, or 92% of a total town budget of $411,525. Out of the town’s budget of $309,385, 82% of the total budget went to pay for the police department, $52,779 was used for "General Government" purposes, and $185 was earmarked for Public Health Services.

Not all of the traffic fine money went into the town's coffers. Some of it went directly into town employees' coffers. Joyce Johnson, former Mayor's Court Clerk and one in a long line of felonious municipal employees of New Rome, did admit to theft in office, and a finding for recovery of public money ( to the tune of $5600) has been issued against Johnson by Jim Petro, Auditor of the State of Ohio. $5600 is just slightly over four days' worth of traffic fines in New Rome. I guess we can all be thankful that Johnson was in the habit of knocking off work early on Fridays.

You would think that in a town where, depending on which population statistics are to be believed, the police force constitutes anywhere from approximately 25% to 45% of its population, that the citizens of New Rome would enjoy unparalleled police protection. Think again. After 11 P.M. , the New Rome, Ohio Police Department shuts down for the night and doesn't open shop until morning commute time. The Franklin County Sheriff's Department and other local police forces take care of all of the off-hour non-traffic crimes like murder, rape, assault and battery, armed robbery and arson. It seems that the reduced nighttime traffic doesn't make for cost-effective policing. Fires also don't seem to be much of a concern to New Rome's civic leaders, because the town doesn't have a fire department, or perhaps it just wants the opportunity to ticket fire trucks from other municipalities speeding to the scene of fires in New Rome.

What the 'Thin Blue Line' of New Rome does protect its citizens from are notorious desperadoes and gangsters like:

1) Jazmin -- A Hispanic woman and American citizen who is an employee of the Ohio Department of Public Safety. She's pulled over and the New Rome PD officer doesn't ask her for her driver's license or proof of insurance, but instead asks for her Social Security number, which is technically illegal in the United States but is a law that is routinely flouted. Jazmin refuses and the cop points to her skin and says that she needs to provide proof of her citizenship. Jazmin shows him her Ohio Department of Public Safety badge. The cop finally relents and issues her a warning.  

2) Two sisters are driving through New Rome and are stopped by one of New Rome's finest. The cop claims that one of the sisters has an expired license. The sister protests and the cop discovers that she had indeed renewed her license three weeks previously. The cop then begins to write a ticket for playing the car's stereo too loudly. One of the sisters asks the cop to look at the car's stereo system. The detachable face of the stereo system is not there, rendering the system incapable of functioning.  

3) Mike -- He's driving his sister's car when a New Rome cop pulls him over. Wanted fugitive? Basque terrorist? No, Mike's sister's car has a hole in the red cover of one of the taillights. The cop claims that the hole is allowing white light to come through that blinds motorists. Mike demonstrates to the cop that this is nonsense by putting his hand four inches in front of the taillight and no white light can be discerned. Undeterred, the cop then runs Mike's license and says that he will have to arrest Mike and fine him $125 for an unpaid seat-belt ticket. Mike informs the cop that he has already paid the ticket, but the cop refuses to listen and handcuffs Mike in front of his sister, girlfriend and cousin. Mike is later bailed out, and the next day he goes to the BMV to get proof that he had paid the ticket. The clerk informs Mike that the cop violated procedure by not running his license through the clerk of courts, in case there was a delay in the paper work. Mike goes to court, wins his case, gets his bail money back, but still has to pay court costs.

Attorney Brian Wolk Spills the Beans on Traffic-Gate and Loses His Job

How does the legal system -- the prosecutors, judges and elected officials, all of whom have sworn to uphold the Constitution and the laws of the land -- treat a fellow officer of the court when he discovers that there are illegalities being committed in the administration and enforcement of traffic laws, that incorrect speed limit signs are being posted in violation of the law and with the acquiescence and approval of elected officials and the courts, and that literally millions of dollars in illegally collected traffic fines have been stolen from the taxpayers by a corrupt legal system in cahoots with local politicians? In the Hollywood version of this story, the young idealistic lawyer (played by Jimmy Stewart) would bring his discovery to the world-weary but wise judge (played by Spencer Tracy). Together the two crusading attorneys would bring the corrupt politicians and judges to justice, the traffic fine money would be returned to the poor widows it was taken from (just in time to prevent foreclosure on family farms and small businesses) and newly- elected District Attorney Jimmy Stewart would get married to Deanna Durbin (the honest and erstwhile secretary of the boss of the traffic fine cartel) by no longer Judge, but now Justice Spencer Tracy. Well, it's a long way from Hollywood to Akron , Ohio .

Just ask attorney Brian Wolk. Yeah, we all bitch and complain about the Bruce Cutler consigliere types, the David Boies corporate whores and the Marvin Mitchelsons of the legal profession who make $750 an hour while keeping mafia dons and thieving executives out of the slammer or pimping for scorned girlfriends and trophy wives when the face lifts begin to sag. But there are good people who become lawyers, just like there are good cops, good teachers and good doctors. They entered their professions not for the money but because they felt called to a cause -- the kind of people like the brave Special Forces members in Afghanistan who, when asked why they volunteered for such hazardous duty, reply, "It's for the privilege of defending our great country, sir."

Well, Brian Wolk is one of those persons who joined the bar for the right reasons. He grew up in Alaska -- a place where a man's word still means something and where people aren't afraid to be individuals -- served his country honorably in the Marines and then went to law school.

While still a law student at the University of Akron , Wolk published a book entitled Ohio Traffic Laws Are for the Birds: A Practical Defense Manual for Juveniles and Adults. In this book Wolk explains how municipal officials use corrupt procedures to promote traffic ticketing that generally does nothing to increase public safety, but does a great deal to enhance public revenues. Citing the example of Plain Township in Stark County , Ohio , where public officials have known for over forty years that at least forty speed limit signs were illegally posted, Wolk states:

What does this government abuse amount to in solely monetary terms? Consider a low-estimate example: 40 roads, 40 years, one ticket per road per week at $25 per ticket, equals $2.08 million. Try your own calculation. If we use the more reasonable 5 tickets per week at a cost of $50, then we get $20.08 million, unjustly taken from the people.

That's right. It all comes down to money. Politicians’ lust after it and it's tough and unpopular to raise taxes. It's much easier to clip law-abiding citizens one or two hundred dollars at a time. The power of the legal system is pretty daunting, especially for hard-working taxpayers who--unlike mafia bosses, corrupt politicians or rap singers-- can't afford Bruce Cutler, David Boies or Marvin Mitchelson. Generally they just pay up without a fight.

This attitude is incomprehensible to the Brian Wolks of the world. If law-abiding Americans don't stand up for their rights all of the time, then just what freedoms are our fighting men fighting for in Afghanistan ? So Brian Wolk spilled the beans on the traffic scam that corrupt municipalities like New Rome and Plain Township have been running for decades. Worse than that, he showed the little guys how to fight City Hall all by themselves.

Ironically, after the book was published, Wolk was hired by the City of Akron Law Department as an intern for the prosecution of traffic tickets. Although Wolk is a young attorney he is obviously good at what he does because he won every case. Even Ted Williams only batted .404 during his best season.

All was going well for Counselor Wolk until March 29, 2002 when an article written by Bob Dyer, entitled "Traffic Fines Are a Scam, Insider Says", appeared in the Akron Beacon Journal. When he showed up for work on April 1, 2002 , Douglas Powley, Chief of the Criminal Division of the Law Department of the City of Akron , met with Wolk and talked about Wolk's book. Later that day Powley told Wolk that he was not to appear in court. After that, Thomas DiCaudo, Chief Assistant of the Criminal Division of the Law Department, informed Wolk that he would no longer have a job with the City of Akron Law Department and that he should resign. DiCaudo instructed Wolk on the particulars of his resignation letter, and faced with no alternative, Wolk complied.

On May 17, 2002 , Wolk filed a Federal civil lawsuit alleging wrongful discharge against the aforementioned Douglas Powley, Thomas DiCaudo, and Max Rothal, Law Director for the City of Akron . In fairness to the defendants, they do deny Wolk's allegations in briefs filed with the court. Their actions, however, paint a different picture.

In a staff report published in the May 18, 2002 edition of the Akron Beacon Journal, Max Rothal is reported to have said that "a judge called to express concern that a person in Wolk's position was making a mockery of the justice system." Since the members of the Akron court system and the Law Department seem not to have had any knowledge of Wolk's book until March 29, and Wolk was either canned or forced to resign or initiated an involuntary "voluntary resignation"-- depending on which side of the law you stand -- there is the very real appearance of cause-and- effect between the judge's call to Wolk's boss and Wolk's departure from the Law Department in less than 48 hours.

And just what is a judge doing by calling a Law Director to complain about one of his employees? Aren't judges supposed to remain impartial, above the fray, and to keep their non-judicial opinions to themselves? If Brian Wolk had behaved improperly in court, the judge would have had the duty to discipline him, but a judge is not to use his enormous power and the prestige of his position to influence personnel decisions because he doesn’t like the opinion expressed by a lawyer outside of court. There's a reason for this. It's very simple to understand. Lawyers want to stay on the good side of judges because in our adversarial justice system a lawyer's unstated first duty is to win. And it's hard to get the close calls to go your way if the referee hates your guts. Given the opportunity, David Boies would probably shovel the snow off of Chief Justice Rehnquist's driveway if he thought it would help his client. So judges are restrained ethically from asking favors of lawyers because it corrupts the system.

I'm no lawyer and god knows what judges will ultimately decide, but let's face it. Brian Wolk was fired because he spilled the beans on a corrupt system whereby illegally collected traffic tickets are a form of taxation without representation. We fought a war about this in 1776, and maybe it's necessary every generation or so to remind our elected officials that they serve at the people's pleasure, that the ruling class must obey the law just as those it governs, and that if municipalities want increased public revenues they can't steal; they have to get approval from the voters.

The municipal traffic ticket industry is a fraud. It steals money from law-abiding citizens; it makes people lose faith in the impartiality of our legal system; and it diverts many police officers away from doing real law enforcement work in order to become tax collectors with guns who are more interested in hitting their monthly quota of traffic tickets than in apprehending actual criminals.

Just think, if police were allowed to concentrate on law enforcement rather than revenue enhancement, one of the three Arab terrorists who were pulled over for traffic violations prior to September 11, 2001 might have been thoroughly investigated rather than released immediately after having been ticketed. And perhaps close to 3000 innocent people would still be alive today.

William E. Grim is a writer who lives in Germany and is a native of Columbus , Ohio . He may be reached at wgrim@myrealbox.com and you can read more by and about him at the Official William E. Grim Web site.