17-Year Traffic Ticket Saga Ends With Court Apology
For 17 years, a Philadelphia man has trekked to traffic court almost annually to explain that he is not his twin brother, after receiving threats that his Pennsylvania driver’s license would be suspended if he didn’t pay outstanding tickets. Each time, after reviewing the situation, officials agreed that the tickets were not his.
Then, in November, a traffic court judge refused to accept Edward Harris’ explanation about the ticket snafu and ordered him to begin paying the $1,800 now owed by his twin brother, Edwin, or go to jail, reports the Philadelphia Daily News.
Justice apparently was done, however, after the newspaper publicized Edward Harris’ situation in an earlier story and it received international attention over the Internet.
Judge Bernice DeAngelis not only agreed to refund the money Harris has paid the court since then on his brother’s behalf, but apologized profusely, the newspaper reports—even though she is not the judge who ruled in November that Edward Harris must ante up.
“I wasn’t in the courtroom,” she said, when asked by the Daily News to explain why Judge Willie Adams didn’t correct the misunderstanding in court last year. “I don’t know what was said or not said. Judge Adams is my colleague. It’s not my place to comment on his actions.”
