Small southern cities that police and ticket for revenue are nothing new, however one village in Louisiana takes the cake although for making its income by ticketing.
Fenton, Louisiana is a singular place, with a legislation permits the mayor to be a choose and the village. That’s most likely as a result of Fenton is a tiny village of simply 226 individuals in an space that covers simply 20 blocks. Anyone with a thoughts for civic engagement goes to want two jobs in a city that tiny, however it’s also a system ripe for corruption.
Nothing about Fenton’s income is tiny although. Audits present the village took in $1.3 million in site visitors fines and asset forfeiture in 2022. That’s not simply the best within the state, it’s additionally one of many highest within the nation. Data from the Urban Institute reveals the typical U.S. municipality will get simply 1.7 p.c of its income from fines and forfeitures; Fenton sits at 92.5 p.c.
It’s all because of a small city setup the place the mayor is the choose and decides the destiny of these ticketed.
The fines had been collected by what’s referred to as a “mayor’s court”: a little-known sort of small city court docket discovered solely in Louisiana and Ohio. In Fenton, its main operate is processing the hundreds of site visitors tickets written yearly by a couple of law enforcement officials. Here, the mayor can also be the choose, appointing the prosecutor and, if drivers ask for a trial, deciding their guilt or innocence.
Those fines in flip assist run the town and pay officers’ salaries, together with the mayor’s. It’s an enormous battle of curiosity; a lot so {that a} case about it went to the Supreme Court within the Seventies the place a ruling “curtailed the power of mayors who take in a lot of money through their court.” Experts say Fenton could also be violating the Supreme Court with the way it’s doing issues.
Worse but, when ProPublica and New Orleans’ WVUE Fox 8 requested entry to issues like court docket minutes, physique digital camera footage and case summaries, the city didn’t truly wish to give them entry; ProPublica was granted a gathering with the mayor for simply 5 minutes.
Because every part is income pushed, getting out of the ticket can show powerful for drivers, particularly when the court docket appears to be purposely petty.
Fenton’s court docket information paint an image of a justice system through which some individuals are punished for the way they act whereas others are rewarded for who they know.
We discovered a dozen court docket information that embrace notations from officers and village staff saying to not “help” individuals or “fix” their tickets as a result of drivers had been impolite. On a ticket for driving 71 mph in a 50: “Refused phone number, driver was very disrespectful no help.” Fine: $305.
A ticket for 81 in a 50: “Very bad attitude. Do not fix.” Fine: $490.
Video from an officer’s physique digital camera throughout one site visitors cease reveals a girl, stopped for driving 62 mph, asking the officer to point out her the radar studying and to let her go along with a warning.
“What else do you guys do around this town?” she requested the officer after he handed her a ticket.
“Protect and serve,” he responded.
Her file reads, “Bad attitude.” She was fined $215.
Head on over to ProPublica to learn the remainder of the report. Prepare to search out your self getting extra pissed as you learn. It paints a damning image of simply what number of small cities throughout the nation do enterprise by screwing over its residents.
Source: jalopnik.com