Courts: why they aren't worth the tax dollars

LA Times opinion "Traffic court -- it's no democracy: A visit shows arresting officers go unquestioned while defendants are all but ignored" is eye opening (the print edition is titled "Railroaded in traffic court?")

I've never been to a traffic court so I can't say one way or another but based on the tickets my wife and I have gotten over the years, it makes sense. The thing that stood out the most is:

By the time the judge got to me, I had observed that every single case in which the officer took the trouble to appear was resolved in exactly the same way, regardless of how the defendants argued their cases or what evidence or witnesses they presented.
That entire morning, the judge never questioned or challenged a word uttered by a police officer. Several times during the proceedings, I observed officers looking over at their brothers in blue and smirking as they gave evidence. It was plain to me that the judge would accept the police officers' words without question or challenge.

Just as the police are not on your side, it seems that the court isn't either. Sad...

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