TIPTON COUNTY, Tenn. —
If you have a traffic ticket in Tipton County, you can now go to court in the evening instead of during the day.
Judge M.O. Eckel III took the bench on Tuesday, Jan. 2, 2024. Just one week later, he moved traffic court to Tuesday nights from 5:30 to 8:30.
Judge Eckel said the driving force was keeping people from having to take a day off work to get to court.
"They're already having to pay for their traffic citation. A lot of these are hardworking people. I didn't want them to have to lose a day's work or lose money on top of having to satisfy their obligation on the traffic violation,” said Judge Eckel.
Although the night court is only for minor traffic violations, Judge Eckel said it helps clear up his daytime dockets for serious criminal cases. This means he can move through those cases faster.
"We're able to move through the criminal court dockets without the distractions of dealing with those 60 to 80 traffic tickets," said Eckel.
So far, the move has been well-received by the public.
"It sounds cool. You don't have to take off work. You don't have to call in sick. Honestly, there should be a lot more at night," said Tipton County resident Richard Bradley.
Judge Eckel said he met with the Tipton County Executive, Jeff Huffman, to make sure the move did not impact the budget or taxpayers.
He also was reassured by the Tipton County Sheriff that it would not impact the Sheriff deputies' workloads.