Lake Forest Park judge reduces school-zone camera fines in multiple mitigation hearings, dismisses owner-not-driver case

Judge Pro Tem Jim Kovac reduced camera-based school-zone fines in multiple mitigation hearings at the Lake Forest Park Municipal Court calendar on June 2, 2025, and dismissed at least one ticket after a registered owner said they were not the driver.

The court heard a series of citations generated by school-zone cameras and took mitigation pleas from defendants who admitted the infractions but asked for lower penalties. In repeated rulings, Jim Kovac, Judge Pro Tem, found defendants had committed the infractions and reduced the penalty amounts from the ticket face value (typically $145) to $80, with the option to set up time payments through the clerk’s office.

Why it matters: Camera-issued school-zone citations are handled administratively in Lake Forest Park and do not count as moving violations, but the fines and any administrative outcomes (including reporting to the state Department of Licensing) affect drivers directly. The court’s routine use of mitigation hearings and standardized…