Reformers seek to change Ferguson-area traffic courts, school electoral system
Reformers who want to address the black community’s anger in Ferguson, Missouri, hope to reform area traffic courts and the system for school board elections.
Some public-interest lawyers say the municipal courts in St. Louis County impose fines and fees on poor drivers that could eventually lead to jail time for those who don’t pay and don’t show up in court, the New York Times reports. The nonprofit legal clinic ArchCity Defenders and other lawyers have sued Ferguson and six other cities for alleged collection of illegal court fees.
On Thursday, another suit was announced, this one by Missouri Attorney General Chris Koster. The state suit alleges that 13 municipalities in St. Louis County violate a state law capping the amount of traffic ticket income that can be used to fund a town’s general operating expenses, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports.
Ferguson has already acted. The city voted to cap municipal court revenue at 15 percent of the city’s budget, eliminated a car-towing fee, and stopped issuing warrants for failing to appear in court in traffic cases.
In another development Thursday, the American Civil Liberties Union filed a suit claiming that at-large elections in Missouri’s Ferguson-Florissant School District dilute black voting strength. The press release is here and the complaint is here (PDF).
