Moreover, this unique program operates within the judicial system. The juvenile offender and his or her family are brought before a traffic-hearing officer, an officer of the court who is appointed by a superior court judge. This approach affords the offender an opportunity to have a private hearing without going before a juvenile court judge. Numerous factors determine how many cases each hearing officer will preside over daily, but it is not unusual for one officer to hear more than 30 traffic cases per day, including DUI cases. The use of traffic-hearing officers has done much to reduce the logjam once experienced in many of California s juvenile courts.
Judges are now able to focus more of their attention on violent offenders.