The New Orleans Inspector General says the city should control the funding for traffic court. Mayor Mitch Landrieu’s office agrees.
New Orleans Inspector General Ed Quatrevaux says it makes sense that the city control the traffic court budget — and make it more transparent.
The current system involves the Judicial Expense Fund, which operates on fines. Quatrevaux says that system is a conflict of interest because it encourages guilty pleas. Landrieu’s office says it’s already making changes to bring traffic court into the normal annual budgeting process.
The Inspector General’s report says that from 2008 to 2012 judges raised up to 83 percent of their operating expenses through court fees assessed on guilty pleas.
