DEKALB COUNTY, GA (CBS ATLANTA) -
Complaints continue to roll in about problems with DeKalb County's traffic court so CBS Atlanta News took Tough Questions to the chief judge who promised to eliminate the massive backlog of tickets and problems with the system.
"We've made enormous progress," said Recorders Court Judge Nelly Withers.
Withers presented numbers showing a backlog of 40,000 tickets when she took office in 2010. Today, she said that backlog is at 8,000, down 80 percent.
Still, some are not happy.
"My son paid this ticket back in 2004, but they said they didn't have any record of him paying it," said Debbie Pender, who was in line to try and straighten out the mess. "When he went to get his license in the state of Minnesota, he couldn't get it, so it's been a journey."
Others also said they have had problems.
"We paid it," said Angela Hutchinson whose son also had his license suspended. "We paid it and we know we'll probably never see the money again."
Withers said some paid tickets will always slip through the cracks.
She pointed out that since she took over, she has upgraded the computer system, retrained workers and added courtroom space. With the improvements, she said traffic court is now handling hundreds more cases a year than in 2010.
"We're essentially logging cases in as they arrive," said Withers. "Nobody is getting turned away. Nobody is having their court date reset."
While strides have been made, the judge said there is still work to be done. She is waiting for a second upgraded computer system and a fifth courtroom to be built.
Withers said the Internet is the wave of the future for traffic court.
"It is my goal, hopefully a goal that can be achieved, to make this an e-court," said Withers.
Copyright 2012 WGCL-TV (Meredith Corporation). All rights reserved.
