The tech boom has brought seemingly everything online, but every now and then we will have to interact with an entity that has not quite caught up with the times. Because of how far we have come as a society, these rare glimpses into antiquated systems can be at best frustrating and at worst nearly inaccessible.
The court system is one of those entities, especially at the traffic level. Dealing with the court can be comparable to dealing with the DMV – long lines, high volumes of paperwork and confusing processes. As a result, people who receive a traffic ticket often have trouble navigating the only aspect of the legal system they will likely ever have to deal with.
The average American does not have hours to wait in line to address their legal matters. In the Tech Age, time is money, so some would rather pay the ticket than waste their time, even if they feel they are innocent. This failure of justice at the hand of bureaucracy happens every day.
Legal Technology Companies are the Future of Law
Back in 2008 this small team in California sought to tackle the court bureaucracy from the ground level and simplify the process by which people could contest their tickets through a process called Trial by Written Declaration. The model they use could be applied nationally and would mean less work for everyone involved.
Clients who work with Ticket Snipers simply submit a photo of their ticket on their website and fill out a questionnaire to provide their side of the story. What they receive at the end is a set of court documents to pursue a written trial along with a comprehensive written defense that challenges their ticket for a dismissal. Rather than dealing with the overburdened court system, Ticket Snipers’ clients mail their professionally composed defenses to the court and await the decision.
From the court’s perspective, written trials mean more manageable dockets and an alleviation of the lines of people they often need to manage during their operating hours. Judges can sit down privately to review defenses rather than an endless queue of cases held in open court.
Trial by Written Deceleration is the most powerful way to fight a traffic ticket
This approach to handling traffic citations could dramatically improve the legal system across the nation. There are already a few states that offer Trial by Written Declaration or a similar process called Trial by Affidavit.
Though California’s system currently only deals with physical documents, as courthouses move their filing systems online the opportunity is clearly present to further streamline what Ticket Snipers has already revolutionized. Online submission of case documents would mean even less manpower involved in filing cases, helping to address ongoing budget cutbacks that courts across the country have been facing since the financial crisis.
Another benefit to what Ticket Snipers has done is that it has not only made the legal system more accessible, but it has also made access to legal assistance more affordable. People may not be able to afford the hourly rate of an attorney who would need to spend the better part of the day in a courthouse. However, the streamlined Trial by Written Declaration process Ticket Snipers has been able to offer high-quality legal assistance at an affordable flat rate.
The legal industry has not quite caught up with all that the tech world has to offer, but Ticket Snipers is evidence of how that is starting to change. While the clearest benefit of this industry shift is the simplification of the trial process, allowing every American to have their day in court without having to fall victim to the systemic hurdles will mean better access to the justice system for everyone.
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