Ferguson: fines and court fees are large revenue source

[summer]

“Despite Ferguson’s relative poverty, fines and court fees comprise the second largest source of revenue for the city, a total of 2,635,400,” according to the ArchCity Defenders report. And in 2013, the Ferguson Municipal Court issued 24,532 arrest warrants and 12,018 cases, “or about 3 warrants and 1.5 cases per household.”

m.dailykos.com/story/2014/08/18/1322691/-The-Seamy-Underbelly-Of-Ferguson-Starts-To-Appear?detail=email

[ESF]

“Despite Ferguson’s relative poverty, fines and court fees comprise the second largest source of revenue for the city, a total of 2,635,400,” according to the ArchCity Defenders report. And in 2013, the Ferguson Municipal Court issued 24,532 arrest warrants and 12,018 cases, “or about 3 warrants and 1.5 cases per household.”

THIS POLICE DEPARTMENT IS OUT OF FUCKING CONTROL.

[ESF]

WHAT THE EVERLOVING FUCK


Exacerbating the problem, the report says, are "a number of operational procedures that make it even more difficult for defendants to navigate the courts." A Ferguson court employee reported, for example, that “the bench routinely starts hearing cases 30 minutes before the appointed time and then locks the doors to the building as early as five minutes after the official hour, a practice that could easily lead a defend net arriving even slightly late to receive an additional charge for failure to appear.”

Those judges should be removed from the bench and disbarred.

[anodyne]

Aug 19, 2014 14:52:03 GMT -5 summer said:

“Despite Ferguson’s relative poverty, fines and court fees comprise the second largest source of revenue for the city, a total of 2,635,400,” according to the ArchCity Defenders report. And in 2013, the Ferguson Municipal Court issued 24,532 arrest warrants and 12,018 cases, “or about 3 warrants and 1.5 cases per household.”

m.dailykos.com/story/2014/08/18/1322691/-The-Seamy-Underbelly-Of-Ferguson-Starts-To-Appear?detail=email

The fuck?


it is a well known fact here that most of these small municipalities use speed traps to increase city revenue.  Ferguson is not alone in this.  Everyone knows, don't speed in this area or that area.  But this?  I would love to see the other municipality numbers.  I would bet Ferguson is not alone in this.  

This is another point for merger of at least the county, if not city/county.

[IIOY]

I wonder how common something like this is. In Philly, drug violation-based forfeiture cases, which involve questionable due process issues and are controversial, constitute a substantial portion of the DA's office revenue.

[pixy0stix]

Nope. No racism to inherent in the local government at all.

[heyjude]

Shocked.

[ESF]

This White Paper that the Kos piece links to is just mindblowing.  Here are two key bits from it:


According to a court employee, the docket for an average court session may include as many as 1,500 cases. Assuming an 80% conviction rate,the average fine in a case resulting in a guilty verdict would be $275




Also this:


To carry out its work, the Municipal Court employs three full-time employees –the Judge, Prosecuting Attorney, and Assistant Prosecuting Attorney –as well as three part-time Court Clerks. Residents of Ferguson have no direct voice in determining who holds these powerful positions; the Municipal Judge is appointed by the City Council on the nomination of the City Manager, and the Prosecuting Attorney is appointed by the City Attorney with the approval of the City Manager.

Unlike Bel-Ridge and Florissant, Ferguson does not make the salaries paid to its prosecutor and judge publicly available. However, in 2013, the total forecasted expenditure for Personnel of the Municipal Court was $221,700, with an additional $59,500 categorized under Professional Services. Apart from Professional Services, $37,100 was spent on Supplies and Services.  The Ferguson Municipal Court holds three sessions per month, meaning that a total of $318,300 was spent to fund just 36 court sessions, or $8,841.67 per session. Moreover, with the average court session lasting no longer than 3 hours, each hour of court costs the City of Ferguson approximately $2,950 dollars 

[orangeblossom]

This so not surprising, despite how disgusting it is.

[epphd]

While I can honestly not formulate anything coherent - I have to comment if only to bump. What in the absolute FUCK is going on?

[summer]

Aug 19, 2014 15:17:39 GMT -5 IIOY said:

I wonder how common something like this is. In Philly, drug violation-based forfeiture cases, which involve questionable due process issues and are controversial, constitute a substantial portion of the DA's office revenue.

I feel like it so often comes down to some financial component.

[elleblue]

Aug 20, 2014 7:38:27 GMT -5 asdfjkl said:

So... Should the feds take over Ferguson? And just throw everyone out and start over. Or am I going to regret saying that later because... it's kind of scary? But also scary? A city government the operates a whole lot like its own country and specifically, Russia.

Yeah, I'm getting the distinct feeling that everyone involved in the Ferguson government needs to be replaced. Pronto. 

[ESF]

I recommend the documentary Kids for Cash. It's about white people, but it is an excellent account of what can go wrong when courts operate as a complete fiefdom. If that's what a town out of control will do to white children, you can just imagine how much worse it is for black men.

[ESF]

Aug 20, 2014 11:50:58 GMT -5 @majorwife said:

Aug 20, 2014 11:48:38 GMT -5 ESF said:

I recommend the documentary Kids for Cash. It's about white people, but it is an excellent account of what can go wrong when courts operate as a complete fiefdom. If that's what a town out of control will do to white children, you can just imagine how much worse it is for black men.

what was the plot?

b/c there was an SUV where a corrupt judge played by Soozie Kurts was taking bribes for sending kids out of state to a military style boot camp.

Yes, that SVU episode is based on this event.

[secretlyevil]

Always a way to relate SVU.

[summer]

Aug 20, 2014 11:14:03 GMT -5 @mx said:

Aug 20, 2014 7:38:27 GMT -5 asdfjkl said:

So... Should the feds take over Ferguson? And just throw everyone out and start over. Or am I going to regret saying that later because... it's kind of scary? But also scary? A city government the operates a whole lot like its own country and specifically, Russia.

The real question for me is just how many small to mid sized towns are basically the same? When a large city or state government is rotten to the core it generally hits the press, but so many smaller places can't be much different than Ferguson.

This is something I see around the world with the trend in decentralization and devolution of power to the local level--it has its benefits for sure but very often the benefits accrue primarily to the small group running the show. I'd never thought about in the American context before, but maybe that's because I've never lived in a small town.

With no evidence to back it up, I'm sure this is rampant.