about 6 weeks ago i was given a ticket by a sheriff’s deputy for not having an inspection sticker on my truck. i deserved the ticket so i don’t really have a complaint about that (though the deputy was not one of the nicer law enforcement agents i have ever met – most of whom are usually very decent people). today i went to the east baton rouge parish court house to pay the fine. i was amazed to find that the fee was only $20. of course, that’s not what i actually paid, nope by the end of the day i had paid $127.25 only $20 of which was for not having an inspection sticker. the other $107.25 was other fees that were supposed to be some how connected to the cost of my ticket, such as $77 for court costs (which if i had actually gone to court would have made a little sense), or $10 for jury compensation (i’m not real sure how they fit a jury into the very small room that the clerk was in but since i was charged for it i’m sure there must have been a jury somewhere in the room), or $2 for the supreme court (i must be more important than i realize since the supreme court sits in on my traffic tickets). my actual fine for driving without an inspection sticker was a mere 1/5 of the additional costs placed on the ticket.
something is wrong with this.