A Georgia man found himself facing a jaw-dropping $1.4 million speeding ticket after he was pulled over for going 90 mph in a 55-mph zone in Savannah last month. Connor Cato, shocked by the astronomical fine, initially thought it was a typo and called the court for clarification. To his surprise, he was informed that he either had to pay the staggering amount or make a court appearance scheduled for December 21 at 1:30 p.m.
“‘$1.4 million,’ the lady told me on the phone. I said, ‘This might be a typo’ and she said, ‘No sir, you either pay the amount on the ticket or you come to court on Dec. 21 at 1:30 p.m.’,” he told local station WSAV.
Criminal defense attorney Sneh Patel expressed incredulity at the unusually high fine for a misdemeanor, stating that such figures typically accompany serious offenses like drug trafficking, murders, or aggravated assaults. However, it turns out that Cato’s case was an anomaly.
“Not $1.4 million — that’s something that goes into cases that are drug trafficking, murders or aggravated assaults, something of that nature,” Patel said.
Fortunately for Cato, the exorbitant sum was not intended for payment. The colossal figure was a mere “placeholder” generated by the e-citation software used by the local Recorder’s Court, specifically for “super speeders” caught going more than 35 mph over the speed limit, as explained by Joshua Peacock, a spokesman for Savannah’s city government.
The software, in use since 2017, automatically applies the placeholder to super speeders’ tickets, indicating a mandatory court appearance without specifying a fine amount. The actual fine, which cannot exceed $1,000 plus state-mandated costs, will be determined by a judge during the court appearance.
Acknowledging the confusion caused by the placeholder amount, Peacock stated that the city is actively working on adjusting the language to prevent such misunderstandings in the future.
