Traffic fines were a set amount. I got four dollars for each case. Several people stopped me on the street, shoved the money in my hand, and stormed off. Somehow I was to blame for their offense. During the court dates, an officer was usually there, thank goodness.
Some people can get rather nasty.
The police were used to all the excuses. Some people sent to a j.p. You can not appeal a case to the same level court. Many, many people in town seemed to think it rather funny to say that to me-over and over. After three years of this, the state decided that the work of the justice of the peace could better be accomplished if everything was handled at the county court.