Editor’s Note: Just moments after we published this letter, someone wrote in to tell us that the writer is referring to Municipal court, not District or State court, where payment plans are indeed allowed.
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A couple of weeks ago, I was pulled over on Hickory street, and I received tickets for my cars tag being expired, and for speeding. I am fine with this, as I was completely at fault. The issue is how the tickets were dealt with when i went to court on Wednesday.
The judge informed everyone that If you plead guilty to any of the citations given, you had until the end of the day to pay the fine given, or your license would be suspended and a warrant would be issued for your arrest. This is incredibly unfair, especially to those who are of limited means. I have a terminally ill child. I haven’t worked since January, and only in the last 5 weeks has my child stabilized enough that I actually can go back to work. I can’t even afford to mow my lawn, which is why my tag is out. If I had plead guilty, like I had intended, I would’ve been given fines that I wouldn’t be able to pay by the end of the day, and my license would’ve been suspended and I guess I would be in jail.
This is a very unfair practice and it is clearly biased against Sapulpa’s less fortunate. There is little reason to take away someones drivers license, and even more so for a 1st time speeding ticket. My driving record is spotless, I just happen to be going through every parents’ worst nightmare: my son almost died around Christmas of last year. It has been horrific, dealing with the constant hospitalizations, the fear that our son my not be with us when we wake up in the morning…and If they were to suspend my license, they would be handing my child a death sentence, because it is critical that I am able to drive him to his doctors appointments and to the ER when necessary. I doubt that I am the only person in town that is going through hard times, and I feel that the judge is clearly lacking empathy in her decision making.
I just hope that someone can take her aside and gently inform her that not all of us have the capacity to come up with untold hundreds of dollars by 5pm that day, and that she will allow people to make payment plans.
Jamie Arnett, Sapulpa
