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Joseph Turner, Guilford County's chief District Court judge, has little tolerance for speeders. "I think speeding 90 miles an hour is as dangerous ... as somebody with a gun shooting into the air," he said last week.

Not everyone in the courthouse holds the same view. Prosecutors often agree to plea bargains that reduce cases of extreme speeding -- 90 to 99 mph -- to just 9 mph over the speed limit. Sometimes 100 mph and faster, too.

Drivers who could have their licenses revoked instead pay fines generally ranging from $50 to a few hundred dollars, plus court costs of $121. They also attend safe-driving classes and perform community service.

Our review of records from five days of traffic court in March found examples like these:

* 95 mph in a 55 mph, reduced to 64/55, $250 fine;

* 92/65, reduced to 74/65, $50;

* 93/55, reduced to 64/55, $200;

* 100/65, reduced to 74/65, $300;

* 102/55, reduced to 70/55, $400;

* 102/65, reduced to 74/65, $300, plus $150 for driving while license revoked;

* 104/65, reduced to 74/65, $600. This driver had previous speeding convictions in Wake and Person counties.

Skirting a tougher law

This isn't supposed to happen since the state legislature acted in 2007 to make it tougher on extreme speeders. Changes were meant to prevent violations in excess of 25 mph over the speed limit from being reduced to "improper equipment -- speedometer," or settled with a "prayer for judgment continued," a form of forgiveness.

Now, in Guilford County, the charge is simply knocked down to 25 mph over the speed limit, or usually less, if other conditions are met.

Defense lawyers are all for it.

"Making them plead to 92 in a 65 doesn't make them better drivers, it just raises their insurance," Greensboro attorney Jan Pritchett said.

But getting them into safe-driving classes, requiring community service and collecting a fine that goes to local schools is a "win-win," he added.

"I haven't had a repeat customer," Greensboro lawyer Jim Swisher said.

That's the idea behind the district attorney's policy, which combines "appropriate punishment and a behavior-modification program," said Assistant District Attorney Tom Carruthers, who manages District Court cases. He compares the approach to first-offender programs for individuals charged with minor offenses like drug possession or shoplifting. Besides, someone whose license is revoked might drive anyway, without insurance, making him more dangerous, Carruthers said.

'It's not OK to drive 90'

But these plea bargains don't cut it with every judge.

"I don't accept them," Turner said flatly. No one charged with exceeding the speed limit by more than 20 mph gets a break in his courtroom. "More than 20 miles per hour over, you've got to be working at it," he said. "I decided I wasn't going to cringe anymore."

"Ninety is just too fast. ... I can't as a judge tell people it's OK to drive 90 anywhere," Judge Tom Jarrell said.

When a judge turns down a plea deal, defense attorneys have the right to ask for a continuance until another judge is holding traffic court. "Yes, it happens in my court," Turner said.

Judge Patrice Hinnant approved dozens of plea bargains recently.

"I'm relying on what the prosecutors and attorneys agreed on. ... I have to learn to trust the lawyers," she said.

When defense attorneys run into a courtroom prosecutor who won't agree to a plea bargain, they can appeal to Carruthers or his boss, District Attorney Doug Henderson. Henderson personally approved deals in some cases in her court last month, Hinnant said.

"I respect the authority of Mr. Henderson to do that," she said. "I trust he had extensive conversation and negotiation and had good reason."

"You've got to do all you can for your client," said defense attorney Swisher, who's gone to Carruthers or Henderson "on a number of occasions."

From the law-enforcement perspective, "high speeds -- 90 to 110 and 120 -- have really increased, especially in Guilford County," Trooper Chris Knox of the State Highway Patrol's Greensboro office said. He's anxious to see if, over time, Guilford County's prosecution philosophy helps. Carruthers has no data yet to show it does. It will be critical to provide hard evidence that this softer approach actually works.

"If they can reach collision reduction or speed reduction through education, that's fine," Knox said.

Then, everyone benefits. The strategy will backfire, big time, if offenders continue to drive at dangerous speeds after leaving court with plea bargains and people get hurt. The public will have a right to be furious.

Turner said his policy lets him sleep better at night. If other judges toss and turn, they might try his remedy.