A former trial desk clerk who worked at Manitoba Justice's summary convictions court office on Broadway is speaking out about a calling program, which offers people with traffic tickets a meeting with a Crown attorney before their court date.

This past summer, Darla Hiebert said she was tasked with calling people who pleaded not-guilty to traffic tickets via mail or fax to give them their options before their case went to trial.

Hiebert worked for Manitoba Justice for nine years. She said the calling program was the "straw that broke the camel's back" and ultimately resulted in her quitting her job.

“It was a very stressful situation which caused me to walk out and leave,” Hiebert said.

Manitoba Justice said the program, which started in February 2016, is aimed at reducing the number of trials that are set, but do not proceed and help people better understand their legal options. However, Hiebert believes the calling program serves a different purpose.

“It has nothing to do about people’s options and wanting them to be aware of them, it’s just about getting the revenue,” said Hiebert. “It’s about getting them into their office, getting them to accept the plea which the Crowns are more than happy to do for a lesser fine.”

“Then they get a guilty plea, they get a portion of the ticket, maybe not all of it, but they get a portion rather than people going to court to fight it under the delay motion because of the backlog in the courts.”

In May, a provincial judge threw out a Winnipeg woman’s speeding ticket because she was forced to wait 18 months for a hearing.

Judge Mary Kate Harvie ruled the delay was unreasonable and that the case should’ve gone to court within four to six months after the plea was entered.

In her time with Manitoba Justice, Hiebert said she dealt with stacks and stacks of tickets – Hiebert once processed 600 tickets in 20 work days.

“It did not make me feel good at all because I felt like I was trying to trick the people into coming in for these appointments,” said Hiebert. “A lot of people don’t realize when they’re coming in for this appointment they’re speaking with the prosecution, the prosecution wants to find them guilty on these tickets.”

Two Crown attorneys were assigned to the summary court offices last February to do work that otherwise would’ve been done on the trial date.

A spokesperson for Manitoba Justice said the calling program is not solely about making a deal.

“It’s where people or their lawyers discuss their case with the Crown before submitting a plea or setting it for trial," the spokesperson said in an email to CTV News. "Previously, court staff had found that more than half of the matters that were set to trial were resolved once all parties met on that date, without it actually being heard by a judicial justice of the peace."

"This was not an effective use of court time and made scheduling inefficient."

People don’t have to come in for the appointment if they don’t want to.

The spokesperson said Crown and court staff do not make monetary decisions about how much an individual might be fined.

“That’s done by a judicial justice of the peace,” said the spokesperson. “The amount on a ticket might be reduced at their direction, a ‘guilty with an explanation’ plea might result in a reduced fine, people may be given more time to pay if needed or a not guilty plea could be successful and they would not be fined.”

Despite the backlog, Hiebert thinks traffic tickets should be heard in court and not during an appointment with a Crown attorney.

“We need to allow that to go forth as it’s supposed in the justice system,” she said. “Maybe some people are taking advantage of the court system in bringing their tickets and pleading not guilty but there’s a lot of people that truly feel they’re not guilty.”

A Winnipeg traffic ticket lawyer meeting with a Crown attorney without first seeking legal advice may be a mistake.

“The risks are you don’t get the full picture of how it’s going to affect you and what the possibilities are of actually beating the ticket if in fact that’s possible,” said Len Eastoe with Traffic Ticket Experts. “The Crowns aren’t going to tell you those things, they aren’t. They will simply map out from their point-of-view what their case is, educate you a little bit in that regard and then quite possibly offer you a reduction in the fine, maybe even something a little better.”

Hiebert recommends people seek legal advice before meeting with the Crown outside court.

“Make sure you know all your rights,” Hiebert said. “Don’t just jump into the court and right away go and accept the plea.”

“If you believe you’re not guilty, if you really want your day in court then just say no to the appointment.”

WiseUp Winnipeg founder Todd Dube went a step further.

“People should ignore that call, which represents a perversion of justice,” Dube said. “It’s the justice department trying to convert these backlogged tickets to cash.”