Coweta County

Woman's ticket coming back to haunt her because of court system technical error

COWETA COUNTY, Ga. — Imagine having your license suspended for a ticket you got 15 years earlier.

Kerri Sharp, of Carrollton, said she’s wrapped up in a technical error that has impacted up to 2,000 drivers with tickets or citations in Coweta County.

The incident, first reported by Channel 2's Alyssa Hyman last week, may have many Georgians driving around on suspended licenses without knowing it.

Sharp said she should have had her license suspended in 2004, except the ticket she got in Coweta County was never put on her record even though she paid the fine for it.

Because of a recent glitch in the DDS system, however, the old ticket was just put on Sharp's record. DDS is saying, legally, they have to move forward with the suspension.

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The ordeal has left Sharp frustrated and confused.

“I’ve just gotten the run around everywhere I go,” Sharp said. “You’re getting told so many things.”

Because of the glitch, Sharp said she ended up with too many points on her license in a two-year period.

“It was a speeding ticket that I definitely paid for,” Sharp said.

Sharp contacted Hyman after seeing her report last week that exposed a technical error in Coweta County, which caused the state court's system to send old, previously processed and duplicate records to DDS.

In total, about 2,000 records were incorrectly sent to the state.

A Coweta County spokesperson confirmed Sharp’s ticket was one of them.

“Had you not done the story than I would have never known about the glitch,” Sharp told Hyman.

While almost all the records have been corrected, Sharp’s case wasn’t so simple because DDS said the ticket was never put on her record until now.

“Was it a glitch or was the ticket just turned in? Or was it both?” Sharp said.

It’s both, but it’s not clear who dropped the ball 15 years ago.

Coweta state court claims it sent the ticket in 2004 but never got a receipt confirmation. DDS claims the court just sent it this month.

Either way, Sharp’s license is still suspended.

“It’s emotional because I’ve been stressed out about it. I had to miss work. I’m not getting anywhere,” Sharp said.

DDS told Hyman that legally, it has to add any citations it receives from the court and it does not have the ability to forgive violations unless legal requirements are met.

Sharp said she has been in contact with Coweta state court, still hoping that this might get fixed.
In the meantime, she's been eligible for a driving work permit.