MyCitations was developed and is maintained by the Judicial Council of California as an online tool to allow individuals with infraction violations to request a reduction in their fines and fees. As of its sixth year of operation, it has been fully implemented in all of the state’s 58 trial courts, benefiting both the courts and the communities they serve. This report includes data from 2024 on the impact of the system related to the reduction of court-ordered debt and the continued implementation of the program.
Read the full report here.
Key Findings:
- During fiscal year 2023–24, over 2.8 million infraction cases, including traffic and nontraffic, were filed in California superior courts.
- In the 2024 calendar year, 136,497 ability-to-pay requests were submitted through MyCitations by 107,609 defendants. The amount due for the cases was $64,666,445, with an average of $474 due per case. After judicial review, the total amount of fines and fees ordered through the tool was $32,929,070, averaging $241 per case and amounting to $31,737,375 in forgiven fines and fees.
- 46 percent of defendants submitting requests reported receiving some type of public benefit, and 89 percent reported incomes at or below 250 percent of the federal poverty level.
- 77 percent of the 136,497 ability-to-pay requests received were approved by the courts for a reduction. Overall, when the court approved a request for reduction, judicial officers accepted the tool recommendation within a $10 difference 98 percent of the time.
- Individuals requested additional consideration of a payment plan as part of 76,837 reduction requests, and 68,091 payment plans were ordered through the tool.
- 30,620 MyCitations submissions included requests for consideration to complete community service in lieu of making a payment to the court; 14,913 were approved, with an average community service requirement of 10 hours per request.
- Of the forty-nine courts that were able to provide information regarding cases ordered through MyCitations, the total amount originally due was $39,311,577. After judicial review, the total amount ordered through the tool was $18,324,353. By June 30, 2024, $6,478,969, or 35 percent, had already been repaid.