Clerk announces Amnesty Week for traffic fines -- no amnesty or discount on filing fees, however

This notice was in several of my inboxes in the last few days, and I certainly hope that this effort by Circuit Court Clerk Mariyana T. Spyropoulos will rake in some overdue fines that might otherwise have gone uncollected. Lord knows, the County needs the money.

I only wish the Clerk would consider discounted filing fees for appearances, jury demands, and new case filings. It would have done me a lot of good when I was practicing, particularly when representing individuals (as opposed to large corporate clients) in smaller matters. No matter that I attached the receipts, or provided copies of the fee schedules: When the filing fees equal or exceed the lawyer's fee, a lot of clients become convinced that the lawyer is somehow double-dipping. Yes, I realize that much of our filing fee structure is statutory... and the Clerk has limited (if any) discretion in these matters... but still....

Judges and the occasional politician who pays attention to the civil courts may wonder sometimes where all the pro se litigants have come from in recent years. I don't wonder at all. I've just explained it to you.