Ferguson Judge Orders Major Reforms in Victory for Protesters

[MADem]

In the year-plus since Michael Brown’s death in Ferguson, Missouri, protesters, reporters, and the Department of Justice have all been critical of the city’s hyperaggressive municipal court system, in which residents (usually black ones) were subjected to frequent ticketing, heavy fines, and even jail time during cases that began with minor transgressions like traffic violations and jaywalking.

On Monday, the city’s new municipal judge announced a major overhaul of the system; per judge Donald McClellin’s statement, all warrants issued before 2015 will be recalled, and a number of new court practices will be instituted going forward:

Drivers’ licenses will no longer be suspended for failures to appear in court or pay a fine.
Defendants will not be denied pre-trial release because of an inability to make bond.
“Alternative dispositions” such as community service, payment plans, and reduced fines may be pursued for indigent persons. (Presumably that’s “alternative” in the sense of being an alternative to going to jail.)

The St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports that several other municipalities in St. Louis County have pursued similar amnesty-ish programs ahead of state-level reforms that take effect Friday. The state law caps the amount of money that local authorities can raise through traffic tickets, prohibits monetary charges for failures to appear in court, and prohibits jail sentences for minor traffic violations. (The bill doesn’t, however, cover potentially abusive municipal fines unrelated to traffic, prevent officers from issuing multiple tickets during a single traffic stop, or ban the use of jail time as a punishment for failing to appear.)

http://www.slate.com/blogs/the_slatest/2015/08/24/ferguson_municipal_court_reforms_victory_for_protest_movement.html

[Sherman A1]

1. Another article on this

http://www.democraticunderground.com/10611373


All seem to be moving in the right direction.

[Lee-Lee]

2. It's trying to reform a system that shouldn't exist

The only right answer is the total elimination of municipal courts, and the elimination of any way that a municipality can profit from policing.

The model here in NC works. When I as a deputy wrote a ticket or made an arrest, or a city cop did, it was heard in state court before a state judge. Any fines or court costs went to the state General Fund or were split between the state judicial system and several other statewide funds as dictated by the state legislature.

For some tickets the agency that wrote it may see $5. At most.

So, no matter what, when you have to pay an officer or deputy overtime to be in court for the local agnency it's a budget negative. As it should be. That's why when I was a deputy we had two on the department who did just traffic and the rest of us were encouraged to give warnings unless it was something bad like DUI or reckless driving- off we all wrote tickets and ended up in court every time traffic court was held that cost lots of overtime $$$.

Then traffic enforcement is about what it's supposed to be- keeping the roads safe- and not the silly "gotcha" billshit played in some places to fatten the budgets of agencies.

If you think Ferguson is a worst case scenario of abuse, look up New Rome Ohio. The number of cops in the town at one point outnumbered the residents.

[MADem]

3. New Rome, Ohio, eh? I'll avoid that place!!!!! nt