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474 Saipan traffic cases to cause courtroom overload

June 10, 2013 posted by Steve Brownstein

The Department of Public Safety's aggressive campaign against traffic violators last month is expected to overload one courtroom in the Superior Court for arraignment hearings.

Superior Court clerk of court Patrick Diaz disclosed that there were 463 cases of traffic violation citations in May this year for payable offenses such as not wearing a seatbelt, carseat, and speeding.

This is a 60-percent-plus increase over the 201 similar traffic violation citations in the same month last year, Diaz said.

Jim Stowell, the NMI Judiciary's public information officer, said yesterday that persons who have been cited may plead not guilty to violating a traffic law, but they must appear in Superior Court at the date and time indicated in the citation.

Stowell said, however, that “payable” traffic citations-such as those cited for failing to buckle-up as part of the DPS “Click it or Ticket” campaign-may be paid without the driver's need to appear in court.

“The driver must pay the fine before the appearance date on the citation. Payment must be made at the Superior Court Cashier's Office (door #2) during regular business hours, Monday through Friday, 7:30am to 4pm,” he said.

The court, Stowell said, will issue a bench warrant for those who fail to either make payment or appear in court.

In an interview, Diaz said the 463 cases filed in court can be disposed of by court hearings or by payments.

Diaz recommended that those who received citations and have no plans of challenging them should pay early or before the arraignment date, or they will be sitting in court for two to three hours.

The June 27 arraignments before presiding judge Robert C. Naraja are for citations that were issued in May.

Diaz revealed that, as of Wednesday, there are 474 cases for the June 27 arraignment.

Even if 50 percent of those will dispose by payments, there are potentially still 237 to undergo arraignment proceedings.

Because of this large number of cases, Diaz said they are planning to divide the assignment of the cases to two courts.

He also noted that there is only one assistant attorney general handling traffic cases.

For the July 11 arraignment, 124 cases have already been filed as of Wednesday morning,

Diaz estimates the number to go up to 300 cases.

“This just shows that DPS program is successful, effective,” he added.

If violators miss the payment, the court may issue a bench warrant in the amount of $110 on top of the regular violation fees.

The penalty for offenses such as not wearing a seatbelt, carseat, or speeding range from $25 to $300.

“Our goal is to inform the public to dispose early to avoid a lot of trouble,” Diaz said, adding that those given citations should not take them for granted.