Court launches online ticket payment
By Robin D’Angelo
C & G Staff Writer
Getting slapped with a traffic ticket is always a pain in the neck, but paying the fine just got a little easier for Eastpointe residents.
As the latest in a series of improvements, the 38th District Court recently announced the addition of eTicket, an online ticket payment system that allows most people to pay their fines at home in their socks and underwear.
Judge Norene Redmond said she was thrilled the court could add online ticket payment to its system of e-filing lawsuits, which began in November.
“We have a duty to the public to ensure that the court is as service-oriented and efficient as possible,” she said.
Traffic and parking tickets issued in the city can be paid online if they are a civil infraction, if they are being paid on time, and if the recipient is not contesting the ticket. Those who are contesting tickets must still appear in court.
Those who are late with payments risk having their driver’s license suspended and a bench warrant issued, and must also come to court to resolve the tickets.
Redmond said recipients should wait seven days after the ticket is issued before attempting to pay it online in order to give the Police Department and court adequate time to enter the ticket into the system. According to Redmond, the 38th District Court handled nearly 12,000 civil infraction and parking tickets in 2004.
Judicial Information Systems, along with the Michigan Supreme Court and IBM, launched the pilot eTicket program in Kent County last February, and chose Eastpointe to be the second district court in Michigan to add the program. The technology for eTicket is financed entirely through the state and is maintained offsite.
Director Marcus Dobek said Judicial Information Systems is essentially extending the front counter out to the Internet so that customers aren’t required to come to the court to do business.
“Eventually, we’re hoping these projects will be common throughout the state,” Dobek said.
“We’re going to gauge the e-commerce of courts with these projects to see how they’ll fare in the future.”