6
Monday, February 27, 1978
University Daily Kansan
Traffic court considers appeals
Rv TOM RAMSTACK
Staff Writer
People who have been fined $ for being in a 15-minute loading zone for 12 minutes or who have been stuck in the snow and returned to dig their cars out only to find a ticket on their windshields have a place to vent their anger.
Anyone who thinks he has unfairly received a parking ticket on campus can argue his complaint before the University of Kansas Parking and Traffic Court in the
The traffic court is in session at 7 p.m.
every day and Thursday in
new Green Hall.
Last semester, 48 percent of the contested parking violations were decided so as to reduce or eliminate the parking fines.
ANYONE WHO wants to appeal a parking ticket can do so by taking it to the Traffic and Security office in Hoch Auditorium within 14 days. If the citation is an obvious mistake, such as a broken window or a parking in a residence hall, it can be canceled at the office.
If the violation is contestable, however, the person who is appealing the ticket will be assigned a first-year law student to defend him in traffic court.
The traffic court is presided over by panels of three judges, who are second-year law students. The judges were chosen by a panel of 15 best attorneys to argue cases before them.
A FIRST-YEAR law student can volunteer as a court attorney or the attorney of a legal attorney, who is called a prosecutor.
Of about 250 tickets issued each school day, 2 to 5 percent are appealed before the traffic court.
Unlike most courts, the traffic court is a court of equity that may consider extenuating circumstances as sufficient reason to dismiss a fine. In other courts, extenuating circumstances only can reduce a penalty.
According to Terry Wall, Chief Justice of the traffic court, once a person has petitioned for review of a ticket, he will be contacted by a student attorney who will help him compile a defense. Within about two weeks, the person who filed the petition will be asked to testify before the traffic court.
EACH CASE takes about 20 to 30 minutes
they are heard each hour the traffic court is set up
For those who wish to contest a ticket without appearing before the traffic court, there exists the option of an "ex parte" review.
An ex parte review consists of a statement by the person appealing the ticket. It is read by three judges. The appeal is granted or denied on the basis of the statement.
JAN KARLIN, who serves as an attorney for the traffic court, said that persons who
had complicated cases or who could not write a good defense should not use an ex parte review.
According to Wall, when the traffic court for the 1977-78 school year conceived last August, there was a backlog of 400 cases.
The backlog existed because the traffic court did not convene during the summer, final examination periods or vacations, although tickets were still issued during
LAST YEAR the traffic court convened only on Tuesday and Thursday nights, but Wall said he decided that appeals also should be handled in the evening nights to eliminate the backlog cases.
Karlin said appeals that involved improperly marked tickets were almost always granted.
She advised, however, that only persons who were prepared to be rigorously cross-trained would have been allowed.
LAST THURSDAY, for example, a student applauded a ticket for parking beside a parking meter with no time left on it. Originally, the student said, he had been parked in a nonmetered space, but someone, probably some of his friends playing a joke, had moved his compact car into the nearby metered stall.
"Do you really believe," the prosecuting attorney said, "that a friend would do that for a joke and risk getting in serious trouble with the law?"
Well, the student defendant said,"maybe I need a friend. Maybe it was somebody who baked me."
your steering wheel?" one of the judges said.
"Yes," the defendant said, "but it doesn't work very well."
``DO YOU HAVE an automatic lock on
After clearing the traffic court for several minutes of deliberation, the panel of judges granted the student's appeal, saying that there was no evidence to discount what he
Karlin said that sometimes people appealed to the terrific cases and awkwardly made to look.
THERE'S NO question that some students use this system to put off paying for a ticket," Wall said. "If the appeal is frivolous, we usually tell the student."
Tom Docking, who serves as judge on the court, said the traffic court was a good way for law students to get the idea of courtroom procedure.
TABRIZ, Iran (AP) - Riots a week ago in the Iranian city of Tabire near the Soviet frontier have brought to the surface deeply rooted animosity among Moslem leaders toward the Shah of Iran. Disorders could erupt again soon, informants say.
Iranian disorder erupts in riots
Government officials said the Feb. 18 rioting in Iran's second largest city left nine persons dead and 125 injured. The injuries was not officially reported.
mosum leaders said, however, that security forces killed about 300 men, a figure that could not be confirmed by independent observers.
Damage to government buildings, banks and businesses amounted to $2.5 million, government officials said. About 360 persons, mostly young men, were reported in the incident.
'THE TOTAL damage may not amount to much, but the ferocity in which the
rioners aimed their vengeance at government buildings, decorated with emblems of Shah Mohammed Reza Pahlavi's reign, frightening "one resident of Tabriz said.
The opposition of conservative religious leaders to the shah's efforts to westernize and modernize the country's traditional society is likely to be thought to be the root of the troubles.
the government's Rastakhit Party headquarters building was damaged heavily. Every window in the building was broken and rioters attempted to set it on fire until the police, backed by army troops, arrived.
A rock was thrown into the first
fairground of the Iran-American
Cultural Society.
POLICE SAID 72 banks, mostly small branch offices, were hit by the rooftops but
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STUDENT SENATE EXECUTIVE SECRETARY
- position begins Tues. March 7, 1978
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Deadline for Applications:
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K.U. STUDENT BASKETBALL TICKETS POST SEASON BIG EIGHT BASKETBALL PLAY-OFFS
DATE: TUES., FEB. 28, 7:30 P.M.
(1ST ROUND)
PRICE: $2.00
TICKETS ON SALE NOW! PRICE: $2.00
PLACE: Athletic Ticket Office Allen Field House
QUALIFICATIONS: Validated 1978 Spring K.U. ID. Required For Purchase
ADMITTANCE TO GAME: Ticket and Validated Spring K.U. ID.
A block of tickets will be available for students to purchase for the semifinals and finals in Kansas City immediately following the 1st round game. Available at the Athletic Ticket Office.
ALL STUDENT TICKETS ARE RESERVED SEATS Sold on first come first serve basis
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Membership Information Sheets are Available At:
DEAN OF WOMENS OFFICE (220 Strong) or
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(403 Kansas Union)
DEADLINE February 27, 1978
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