The Cost (literally) of "Justice" in Ferguson ($$$$$$$$$$)

[EEO]

How Many Ways Can the City of Ferguson Slap You With Court Fees? We Counted
Source: Mother Jones

To start, you might show up on time for your court date, only to find that your hearing is already over. How is that possible? According to a Ferguson court employee who spoke with St. Louis-based legal aid watchdog ArchCity Defenders, the bench routinely starts hearing cases 30 minutes before the appointed time and even locks the doors as early as five minutes after the official hour, hitting defendants who arrive just slightly late with an additional charge of $120-130.

Or you may arrive to find yourself faced with an impossible choice: Skip your court date or leave your children unattended in the parking lot. Non-defendants, such as children, are permitted by law to accompany defendants in the courtroom, but a survey by the presiding judge of the St. Louis County Circuit Court found that 37 percent of local courts don't allow it.

Coming to court has its own pitfalls, but not the ones many people fear. It's a common misconception among Ferguson residents—especially those without attorneys—that if you show up without money to pay your fine, you'll go to jail. In fact, you can't be put behind bars for inability to pay a fine, but you can be sent to jail for failure to appear in court (and accrue a $125 fee). If you miss your court date, the court will likely issue a warrant for your arrest, which comes with a fee of its own:

At this point, you owe your initial fine, plus fines for failure to appear in court and the arrest warrant. Thomas Harvey, executive director of ArchCity Defenders, explains that if you're arrested, your bail will likely equal the sum of these fines. Ferguson Municipal Court is only in session three days a month, so if you can't meet bail, you might sit in jail for days until the next court session—which, you guessed it, will cost you.

Once you finally appear in court and receive your verdict, your IOU is likely to go up again.

And it just keeps going and going...

[daleanime]

1. Kick....

[tea and oranges]

2. Amnesty for the people of Ferguson!

kick

[tooeyeten]

3. Every city with a court

Exploits the summoned and the arrested, check your own courts, city, county courts, everybody got fees to collect. Don't pay the fees a warrant gets issued.

[Sunlei]

4. This is the local oppression in many communities across America.

[davidpdx]

5. K & R

A very worthwhile read as it is important to bring these practices to an end.