Originally Posted by bunk

I had to go to court for a ticket. The judge that day was a stand in for the regular one. He said that California fees/taxes on top of ticket fines were ridiculous, and that people can ask for a reduced fine. He was dropping the fine for EVERYONE by over half.
Then a guy comes in, calls out about 20 names and to follow him to another courtroom because this one was way too full. I was one of them. The judge I had to see had just finished a hearing regarding a drug offender. I ask if he could reduce my fine. NO! Case closed.
That first judge showed us the base fine for difference offenses, then what it costs after fees/taxes/bs, it was like 10-15x the cost of the base penalty.