Connor Cato was driving home on September 2nd when he was pulled over by Georgia State Patrol for driving 90 in a 55 MPH zone. Connor says he knew he was going to get a super speeder ticket, which in Georgia means an extra $200 is added to speeding tickets, but he did not know the amount would be as high as it was, $1,480,000 and $321.
“I mean, I can’t imagine that somebody would have to pay $1.4 million for not showing up for a speeding ticket. ” – Said Connor.
So, he called the court after seeing that number, of course, and what did the courts tell him?
“The lady told me on the phone, ‘This might be a clerical error, I’m not sure,'” Connor explains. “I told her the amount it was, and she said, ‘No, sir, that’s the correct amount. You either pay the $1.4 million or appear in court on December 21st at 1:30 p.m.'”
Local criminal defense attorney Snay Patel tells us he’s never seen anything like this before. “At first, when I was called about this, I thought it would be a clerical error. But I know you followed up, and apparently, it’s not a clerical error. I mean, that’s something I’ve never seen before.”
Patel says you never pay over the maximum amount for traffic violations, and misdemeanor charges in the state of Georgia can only go up to $1,000. The maximum for a misdemeanor is $1,000, and if it’s a misdemeanor of a high and aggravated nature, the maximum would be $5,000.
Now, the bond amount should be sort of relative to that. For misdemeanors, you wouldn’t see bond amounts more than $5,000, and in some extreme cases, maybe $10,000. This is done to ensure that if it’s a crime involving violence or if you’re anticipating that somebody could commit more crimes, you would set a higher bond amount. Or if there’s any indication that they may not show up for court, a higher amount might be set, but not 1.4 million.
Patel adds, “That’s something that goes into cases that are drug trafficking or murders or aggravated assaults, something of that nature.”
We did hear back from the city of Savannah late this afternoon. A representative tells us that the balance reflected on the E-ticket is not the actual amount of the fine. It’s a placeholder because all Super Speeders are required to appear in court. The forcible fine is set by the judge when the defendant appears in court, and the penalty can’t be more than $1,000 plus State fees.
Now, why did someone put $1.4 million in the placeholder for Connor? Well, we’re working on getting the answer to that question too.