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Providence judge reduces or dismisses parking fines after caregivers describe family circumstances
Summary
In a series of brief Municipal Court hearings, a Providence judge threw out older parking tickets and dismissed two roadside citations after relatives and caregivers explained family caregiving circumstances, including a grandmother who said she supports her granddaughter and another who said her grandson used her car without permission.
At the Municipal Court of Providence, a judge reduced or dismissed multiple parking and traffic citations after relatives and defendants described caregiving circumstances that the court said helped explain why tickets went unpaid or why others were driving a registered vehicle.
In one case the judge said he would dismiss tickets from 2012, waive penalties on more recent citations and impose a $90 fine for the current tickets and a $100 fee to remove a boot after a grandmother told the court she was caring for her granddaughter. The judge told the woman, "You're a good grandmother" and dismissed the old tickets while waiving penalties on the new ones.
In a separate case involving a school-zone speeding citation and a brake-light violation on Bruce Street, a woman told the court her grandson "did without my permission" when he drove her car while she was hospitalized and trying to help him get on his feet. After hearing that the granddaughter and family members were struggling, the judge said, "I don't like to hold people responsible for things for which they're not responsible," and dismissed both tickets.
The judge framed these rulings as an effort to balance enforcement of Providence parking and traffic rules with the personal circumstances described in court, saying he did not want to penalize people who appear to be caretakers or who were acting under family pressures.
No formal motions, seconders, or recorded vote tallies were presented in these live courtroom dispositions; the judge announced each outcome from the bench.
The court moved on after each disposition; there were no recorded appeals or immediate challenges in the clips provided.
