New Initiative Lets EL Citizens Dispute Parking Tickets Online

The process of disputing parking tickets has just become a lot easier. East Lansing’s 54B District Court has added an online platform for review of parking tickets.

Historically, an unfair parking ticket was often grudgingly paid due to the unwillingness to withstand what might be a lengthy court process. Paying the fine often seemed worth the price to avoid the hassle. On the flip side, a citizen unwilling to pay for an undeserved parking ticket might have been unable to make it to court and faced increasingly severe penalties as deadlines passed.

The new online platform is offered through Court Innovations Matterhorn, a company that provides online negotiation for citizens and the courts to resolve minor offenses. As media contact Jennifer Cornell explained, “Because citizens can take care of court matters online from home, on their own time, they don’t have to take time off of work, find transportation to court, or deal with the anxiety that can result from having to face a judge. As a result, Matterhorn reduces the chance for a misdemeanor offense to unnecessarily escalate; lack of attention can cause a citizen to have to pay higher fees and penalties, lose a driver’s license, be issued a warrant, and, in some cases, get arrested.”

This new process can help drivers eliminate the possibility of these unnecessary legal repercussions, but Cornell cautions that residents must still abide by the designated time line, “All parking tickets that are at the Court and are not in default (more than fourteen days old)” are eligible for the online review process, according to Cornell, who added, “In other words, new tickets issued by Parking and Code Enforcement (PACE) and newly transferred tickets from MSU-DPS and the City’s parking system [are eligible]. MSU parking tickets that are payable at MSU are not eligible.”

This new program is designed to provide a very rapid review process to citizens. As Cornell informed me, “Our goal is to have a matter resolved within two business days. We adopted these programs for the convenience of our customers, so they can handle court business online, not wait for a hearing or have to take time from school or work to come to court.”