Last night I went to pro tem judge school again. This time, the subject was traffic. The amount of technical knowledge is quite intimidating. Photo red light enforcement, speeding, and sentencing all are very complicated and technical in nature. There is a lot less discretion than I would have thought, and the elements of the prosecution’s case are significantly more elaborate than I would have thought.
I made an “airplane buddy” on the way in, a nice lawyer from Woodland Hills, who has sat pro tem in traffic court for a long time. Halfway through the class, he leaned over and said “This must seem overwhelming.”
“Yeah. How do you keep it all straight?”
“I cheat off the benchbook. And I screw up sometimes. It’s really okay if you do, everyone does. If you aren’t sure about something, side with the defendant. So some guy who was speeding gets away with it. Big deal, the cops will get him next time.”
That made me feel better. I was feeling overwhelmed with the long Vehicle Code citations being thrown around, concerns about the difference between bench warrants and civil assessments, and and the manner in which speed limits are determined. Now I’m more determined than ever to go ahead with my plan to pro tem judge.
