Remember the Ferguson Report? How Minor Tickets Destroy Peoples Lives

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In California a ticket for running a stop sign is $35 dollars until the state tacks on surcharges then it turns into a ticket for $238 dollars.

You can set up a payment plan for your tickets but in Louisana it costs $100 to set up a payment plan

Fines are used as a cash machine.

In Ferguson officers competed to see who could write the most tickets. Police promotions depend on ticket revenue.

Also, in 2007 a lady got 2 parking tickets (skip to the 5 minute mark) totalling $152. So far she's paid more than $500 to Fergueson and now she owes Fergueson $542 dollars STILL

In NJ a survey found that 64% lost their license due to failure to pay a fine. (Check the 6 minute mark)

Dont worry about it the free market is on the way. There are business's that collect the money for the states but with a fee.

A ticket that costs $41 turned into a payment plan of $35 that goes toward the fees for the company first and not the ticket itself. So one person paid over $400 for the $41 dollar ticket and the ticket was still outstanding. And when you cant pay the fine and the fees....they send you to jail like debtors prison.

One guy was locked up 3 different times for stealing 1 beer...once. The guy was in jail for 60 days. A $2 beer cost a $270 fine and the city spent over $3000 to keep this guy locked up.

 

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In Ferguson Court Fines And Fees Fuel Anger NPR

The ArchCity Defenders report argues that this resentment is justified. Last year, Ferguson collected $2.6 million in court fines and fees. It was the city's second-biggest source of income of the $20 million it collected in revenues.

Earlier this year, in the series Guilty and Charged, NPR's investigations unit found that the practices in Ferguson are common across the country. The series reported that nationwide, the costs of the justice system are billed increasingly to defendants and offenders, and that this creates harsher treatment of the poor. Because people with money can pay their hundreds or thousands of dollars in fines and fees right away, they are usually done with the court system.

People who can't pay their fines and fees go on payment plans. But then there are extra fees, sometimes interest — 12 percent on felonies in Washington state — and, if poor people fall behind on payments, they may go to jail. Courts often ignore laws, Supreme Court rulings and protections that outlaw the equivalent of debtors prisons.

Lets talk percentages shall we

Blacks make up 67 percent of the city's population, but are 86 percent of motorists stopped by police. Whites make up 29 percent of the population, but 12.7 percent of vehicle stops.

"However, this data seems at odds with the fact that searches of black individuals result in discovery of contraband only 21.7 percent of the time, while similar searches of whites produce contraband 34 percent of the time," the ArchCity Defenders report notes.

*Snip*

"And then if you can't pay all the fines at once, they put you on a pay docket, and that just means [you] come to the court once a month and pay a certain dollar amount or explain why you haven't paid," Harvey says.

But the ticket may be in a far-away court that's not easy to get to in a region with sometimes spotty public transportation. If someone doesn't pay, a warrant can be issued for their arrest.

The new report says the courtroom in Ferguson gets so crowded that judges lock the doors just five minutes after court begins. Sometimes people show up late and can't get in, so they leave. But then they're counted as missing court, and an arrest warrant might be issued.

Jeff Smith, an assistant professor at the New School and a former Missouri state senator from St. Louis, says Ferguson "facilitates a debtors prison" because of the high number of arrest warrants that get issued when people don't pay. When people go to jail, they sometimes lose their jobs.

 

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Now the solution isnt to spend more money on jail than they do on the offense itself but people should be charged according to their ability to pay. And if this is about punishment and law enforcement they can provide community service, pick up trash etc.

But not to turn a $35 ticket into a $230 dollar ticket then arrest and jail someone when they cant pay effectively harming their ability to pay even more unless they hustlers on the drug corner saves you a place.

And the report from Ferguson shows that MOST of their revenue comes from fines. Combine that with promotions based on how many tickets you write and you can see a conflict of interest.

 

[Roadrunner]

Now the solution isnt to spend more money on jail than they do on the offense itself but people should be charged according to their ability to pay. And if this is about punishment and law enforcement they can provide community service, pick up trash etc.

But not to turn a $35 ticket into a $230 dollar ticket then arrest and jail someone when they cant pay effectively harming their ability to pay even more unless they hustlers on the drug corner saves you a place.

And the report from Ferguson shows that MOST of their revenue comes from fines. Combine that with promotions based on how many tickets you write and you can see a conflict of interest.

Solution is to obey traffic laws.

 

[Sonny Clark]

In California a ticket for running a stop sign is $35 dollars until the state tacks on surcharges then it turns into a ticket for $238 dollars.

You can set up a payment plan for your tickets but in Louisana it costs $100 to set up a payment plan

Fines are used as a cash machine.

In Ferguson officers competed to see who could write the most tickets. Police promotions depend on ticket revenue.

Also, in 2007 a lady got 2 parking tickets (skip to the 5 minute mark) totalling $152. So far she's paid more than $500 to Fergueson and now she owes Fergueson $542 dollars STILL

In NJ a survey found that 64% lost their license due to failure to pay a fine. (Check the 6 minute mark)

Dont worry about it the free market is on the way. There are business's that collect the money for the states but with a fee.

A ticket that costs $41 turned into a payment plan of $35 that goes toward the fees for the company first and not the ticket itself. So one person paid over $400 for the $41 dollar ticket and the ticket was still outstanding. And when you cant pay the fine and the fees....they send you to jail like debtors prison.

One guy was locked up 3 different times for stealing 1 beer...once. The guy was in jail for 60 days. A $2 beer cost a $270 fine and the city spent over $3000 to keep this guy locked up.

It's all across this country. I'd love to see "pay-back" time. It's really gotten out of hand. If the people don't revolt soon, authority and power will destroy this nation.

 

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The United States Supreme Court inBearden v. Georgia, 461 U.S. 660 (1983), held that courts cannot imprison a person for failure to pay a criminal fine unless the failure to pay was “willful.” However, this constitutionaledictis often ignored.

Courts impose substantial fines as punishment for petty crimes as well as more serious ones. Besides the fines, the courts are assessing more and more fees to help meet the costs of the ever-increasing size of the criminal justice system: fees for anklebraceletsfor monitoring; anger management classes; drug tests, crime victims’ funds, crime laboratories, court clerks, legal representation, various retirement funds, and private probation companies that do nothing more than collect a checkeverymonth.

People who cannot afford the total amount assessed may be allowed to pay in monthly installments, but in many jurisdictions those paymentsareaccompanied by fees to a private probation company that collects them. A typical fee is $40 per month. People who lose their jobs or encounter unexpected family hardships and are unable to maintain payments may be jailed without any inquiry into their ability to pay.

DEBTORS PRISONS Southern Center for Human Rights

 

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For 17 years, the Clinch County Jail in Homerville charged those in its custody a daily room and board fee. Even though Georgia law did not authorize – and in fact prohibited – such charges, the County Sheriff charged inmates $18 per day. Many people were too poor to pay the fees upon their release. The Sheriff and his deputies required them to sign notes promising to pay the fees in installments, or return to jail. On several occasions, the Sheriff charged people thousands of dollars, failing to return the money even when criminal charges were dismissed.

 

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Remember tho...Citizens are to follow the law...not the govt. To expect that would be silly.

 

[GHook93]

Crook Couny IL is horrendous. Speeding tix range from $105-$200. You can fight it, but unless you get a clear cut victory you pay $150-$200 in court costs. I fought and won a $100 not stopping at red light on a right hand turn tix. $135 violation. The court cost were $150. I should have just mailed in the money.

Moving violation tixs and speed cameras are really not about safety, they are all abou revenue generation

 

[MisterBeale]

Bleeding heart stupidity. Albeit it's a legitimate complaint, there are ways around it if you are knowledgeable.

This nation, the states, and the municipalities are all corporations. The citizens are their property, their chattel. They have no interest in chattel that they cannot squeeze a profit out of. IF the administrators of this system think it will harm the productive capacity of their slaves more to give them fines they can't possibly afford, they will back off. They WANT people to have their lives become MORE productive, they don't want the state to destroy them.


If you don't have the money to pay, you plead either guilty, or no contest, and then you make clear to the judge that you are ABSOLUTELY BROKE AND HAVE NO MONEY TO PAY ANY FINES. The first step is to GO TO COURT to address your civil infraction. To ignore it or hope it goes away is going to cause you more pain and grief.

The indigent can almost ALWAYS request to do their time in community service in lieu of a fine. How do you think the homeless pay their debt to society when they get caught urinating in public or get ticketed for public intoxication? If you don't have time to do community service, then, with proper budgeting, you should have the money to make reasonable payments.

Oh right, the fuzz just doesn't bother them with tickets. . . .


When I got my civil infraction, they let me work it off at the Salvation Army. No problem. In fact, it was fun.

 

[ClosedCaption]

If you don't have the money to pay, you plead either guilty, or no contest, and then you make clear to the judge that you are ABSOLUTELY BROKE AND HAVE NO MONEY TO PAY ANY FINES. The first step is to GO TO COURT to address your civil infraction. To ignore it or hope it goes away is going to cause you more pain and grief.

Skyrocketing Court Fines Are Major Revenue Generator for Ferguson

The report alleged that the Ferguson Municipal Court routinely began hearing cases 30 minutes before the scheduled start time, then locked the doors to the building five minutes after the official start. As a result, those who arrived late faced an additional charge for failing to appear.The Ferguson court also limited access to hearings to only defendants and lawyers. Earlier this summer, the presiding judge of the St. Louis County Circuit Court sent a letter urging municipal judges and cities to open their courts to the public.

 

[ClosedCaption]

When I got my civil infraction, they let me work it off at the Salvation Army. No problem. In fact, it was fun.

LOL! Man, you dont realize that this is not the norm right?

 

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Bump this thread

 

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Add on top of that - when people get fined they make them pay through a private company who adds on fees like a pay day loan that are often times HIGHER than the fine itself. When one lady told the judge she had the $41 to pay her ticket but not the fines the Judge said tough and told her to keep paying that private company.
This is a screwed up system when people are forced to be victimized by a company because of their relationship with the state.

 

[2aguy]

In California a ticket for running a stop sign is $35 dollars until the state tacks on surcharges then it turns into a ticket for $238 dollars.

You can set up a payment plan for your tickets but in Louisana it costs $100 to set up a payment plan

Fines are used as a cash machine.

In Ferguson officers competed to see who could write the most tickets. Police promotions depend on ticket revenue.

Also, in 2007 a lady got 2 parking tickets (skip to the 5 minute mark) totalling $152. So far she's paid more than $500 to Fergueson and now she owes Fergueson $542 dollars STILL

In NJ a survey found that 64% lost their license due to failure to pay a fine. (Check the 6 minute mark)

Dont worry about it the free market is on the way. There are business's that collect the money for the states but with a fee.

A ticket that costs $41 turned into a payment plan of $35 that goes toward the fees for the company first and not the ticket itself. So one person paid over $400 for the $41 dollar ticket and the ticket was still outstanding. And when you cant pay the fine and the fees....they send you to jail like debtors prison.

One guy was locked up 3 different times for stealing 1 beer...once. The guy was in jail for 60 days. A $2 beer cost a $270 fine and the city spent over $3000 to keep this guy locked up.

Well....according to the eric holder standards for racism on police forces....the entire Chicgago police force should be fired and replaced...their minority traffic stop to ticket ratio is far worse than Ferguson's......but of course...it is a democrat controlled city.....

 

[Manonthestreet]

Norm in Mn .....wherever red light cams are its the Norm...trying to localize this issue to Ferguson is simply an effort to legitimize the riots.after the fact

 

[ClosedCaption]

In California a ticket for running a stop sign is $35 dollars until the state tacks on surcharges then it turns into a ticket for $238 dollars.

You can set up a payment plan for your tickets but in Louisana it costs $100 to set up a payment plan

Fines are used as a cash machine.

In Ferguson officers competed to see who could write the most tickets. Police promotions depend on ticket revenue.

Also, in 2007 a lady got 2 parking tickets (skip to the 5 minute mark) totalling $152. So far she's paid more than $500 to Fergueson and now she owes Fergueson $542 dollars STILL

In NJ a survey found that 64% lost their license due to failure to pay a fine. (Check the 6 minute mark)

Dont worry about it the free market is on the way. There are business's that collect the money for the states but with a fee.

A ticket that costs $41 turned into a payment plan of $35 that goes toward the fees for the company first and not the ticket itself. So one person paid over $400 for the $41 dollar ticket and the ticket was still outstanding. And when you cant pay the fine and the fees....they send you to jail like debtors prison.

One guy was locked up 3 different times for stealing 1 beer...once. The guy was in jail for 60 days. A $2 beer cost a $270 fine and the city spent over $3000 to keep this guy locked up.

Well....according to the eric holder standards for racism on police forces....the entire Chicgago police force should be fired and replaced...their minority traffic stop to ticket ratio is far worse than Ferguson's......but of course...it is a democrat controlled city.....

I agree but they just did a report on that too didnt they?

 

[ClosedCaption]

Norm in Mn .....wherever red light cams are its the Norm...trying to localize this issue to Ferguson is simply an effort to legitimize the riots.after the fact

Well if you read my links you'd see this is not only in Ferguson but the report that came out on Ferguson is equally a problem...It happens all over but no one will report on those and if they do...its greeted with a huge yawn because the people who arent being ticketed dont care. Until its them

 

[Lonestar_logic]

Simple solution. Don't get a ticket.

 

[ClosedCaption]

Simple solution. Don't get a ticket.

Simple minded because the cops are given promotions based on how many tickets they can write and hold contests. So in order to not get ticketed first it shouldnt be treated as a race or contest