Thread: Courts clogged with driving cases

By Liz Mineo

DAILY NEWS STAFF

At the Framingham District Courthouse, almost every day of the week men and women show up to face charges related to driving without a license.

The majority are immigrants, and because many of them don't speak English, they rely on the court-appointed Spanish- and Portuguese-speaking interpreters. Hearings are brief and end when the judge sets a fine, between $100 and $200, which can increase depending on additional charges filed by police.

Those charges can include failure to stop or yield, marked lanes violation, speeding or lacking inspection sticker. Contrary to popular belief, very few are charged with driving without car insurance. On Tuesday, of more than 20 people summoned to court for unlicensed operation, only two were facing charges of driving an uninsured or unregistered vehicle.

Some who are summoned to court don't show up because they fear deportation, but many do show up, pay the fine and go on with their lives.

Such was the case of Antonio Mayancela, 21, of Milford, who after paying a $235 fine for driving without a license and lacking the inspection sticker, planned to drive. He said he had parked his car in downtown "far from the courthouse."

"How am I going to work?," he said outside the courthouse on a Tuesday morning. "No one can drive me around."

Marcelo Nieves, 23, who hails from Brazil, planned to walk home. Nieves had been to court four times, three for driving without a license and one for both unlicensed operation and leaving the scene of an accident.

"I'm not going to drive anymore," he said.

Later that Tuesday, an Ecuadorean man from Milford came to court to pick up a summons for driving without a license. With the summons in his hand that orders him to show up in court Aug. 22, he left the courthouse, hopped into his gray pickup truck and drove off.

http://www.metrowestdailynews.com/news/x804490507

How many of these do they get before they impound the car?

Originally Posted by nntrixie

How many of these do they get before they impound the car?

Yes, if they only knew how much money they could make from impounding cars, they would start doing it. So much for enlightened public administration........sheesh.

The majority are immigrants, and because many of them don't speak English, they rely on the court-appointed Spanish- and Portuguese-speaking interpreters.

Good grief...have they just ceased to call them ILLEGAL immigrants anymore?

What is missing from this report is what Framington is going to do about this situation. Surely, they will not let it remain status quo. Are the judges seeking legislative changes?