WHAT A HEEL: Judge Fixes Own Tix
Lancaster city District Judge Kelly Ballentine dismissed two no-parking tickets and an expired registration ticket issued to her in December and January, though the PA Judicial Conduct Board's rules required her to disqualify herself in any proceedings that involved her, LancasterOnline.com reports:
[A] check of court records with regard to all of the county's district judges shows that those who had parking or traffic tickets had another magisterial judge handle their cases at the district court level.
Police issued a no-parking ticket to Ballentine on Nov. 1, 2010, saying she parked in a no-parking area in front of her house. Ballentine also received a second ticket on the same day at the same location, for allegedly having an expired registration.
A week later, police issued another no-parking ticket to Ballentine, again for parking in the area in front of her house.
Ballentine dismissed the first two tickets Dec. 29, almost two months after she received them, court records show.
Ballentine dismissed the third ticket Jan. 27, court records indicate.
In each case, Ballentine dismissed the tickets after she had received a summons to appear in her own court after not responding to the tickets.
The three tickets originally each carried $20 fines. But with penalties and costs, the fine for each had grown to $89.50 by the time Ballentine dismissed them.
It is unclear whether state or local authorities plan to investigate the matter.
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