(a) Establishment and Operation of Traffic Violations Bureau. Each court, other than the juvenile division of the court of common pleas, shall establish a Traffic Violations Bureau. The court shall appoint its clerk as violations clerk. If there is no clerk, the court shall appoint any appropriate person of the municipality or county in which the court sits. The violations bureau and violations clerk shall be under the direction and control of the court. Fines and costs shall be paid to, receipted by and accounted for by the violations clerk.
The violations bureau shall accept appearance, waiver of trial, plea of guilty, and payment of fine and costs for offenses within its authority.
(b) Authority of Violations Bureau. All traffic offenses except those listed in subsection (b)(1) to (9) may be disposed of by a Traffic Violations Bureau. The following traffic offenses shall not be processed by a Traffic Violations Bureau:
(1) Indictable offenses;
(2) Operating a motor vehicle while under the influence of alcohol or any drug of abuse;
(3) Leaving the scene of an accident;
(4) Driving while under suspension or revocation of a driver’s license;
(5) Driving without being licensed to drive, except where the driver’s or commercial driver’s license had been expired for six months or less;
(6) A third moving traffic offense within a twelve-month period;
(7) Failure to stop and remain standing upon meeting or overtaking a school bus stopped on the highway for the purpose of receiving or discharging a school child;
(8) Willfully eluding or fleeing a police officer;
(9) Drag racing.
(c) Schedule of Fines. The court shall establish and publish a schedule of fines and costs for all offenses. The schedule shall be distributed to all law enforcement agencies operating within the jurisdiction of the court and shall be prominently displayed at the place in the violations bureau where fines are paid.
(d) Defendant’s Appearance, Plea and Waiver of Trial.
(1) Within seven days after the date of issuance of the ticket, a defendant charged with an offense that can be processed by a traffic violations bureau may do either of the following:
A. Appear in person at the Traffic Violations Bureau, sign a plea of guilty and waiver of trial provision of the ticket, and pay the total amount of the fine and costs;
B. Sign the guilty plea and waiver of trial provision of the ticket and mail the ticket and a check, money order, or other approved form of payment for the total amount of the fine and costs to the Traffic Violations Bureau;
(2) A court may establish a procedure for accepting, through its traffic violations bureau, guilty pleas, waivers of trial, and payments of fines and costs by telephone or other electronic means. The form of payment accepted by telephone or other electronic means shall be approved by the bureau.
(3) Remittance of the fine and costs to the Traffic Violations Bureau by an means other than personal appearance by the defendant at the bureau constitutes a guilty plea and waiver of trial whether or not the guilty plea and waiver of trial provision of the ticket are signed by the defendant.
(e) Records. All cases processed in the Violations Bureau shall be numbered and recorded for identification and statistical purposes. In any statistical reports required by law, the number of cases disposed of by the Violations Bureau shall be listed separately from those disposed of in open court.
(f) Hours of Operation; Personnel. The court shall appoint a law enforcement officer as a Deputy Violations Bureau Clerk to act as Violations Clerk when the Violations Clerk is not on duty.
(Ord. 2000-26. Passed 4-19-00.)
(Ord. 2000-26. Passed 4-19-00.)