A Pennsylvania judge is learning the hard way that there is no magic wand to make traffic violations go away. Magisterial District Judge Kelly Ballentine is facing criminal charges for allegedly dismissing three of her own traffic tickets.
According to Lancaster, Pennsylvania police, Ballentine was issued two separate tickets in November of 2010 for parking illegally in front of her home. Ballentine was also ticketed for expired tags on her BMW sedan. All three tickets totaled $268.50.
Ballentine failed to pay the tickets on time and summonses were ultimately sent to her home. Ballentine apparently felt she didn’t deserve the tickets and erased all three violations through the online court system records, according to Reuters.
However, Ballentine’s scam was quickly discovered and the judge now faces conflict of interest, tampering with public records and obstruction charges. Ballentine is currently out on $25,000 bond, but could face up to seven years in prison.
