I was up until 4:00 a.m. this morning reading the DOJ’s report of the racial bias and unconstitutional practices of law enforcement and the municipal court in Ferguson. While the vast majority of us did not need the DOJ to “prove” that racial profiling and discrimination exists in law enforcement (as we are well aware that it does exist in most/all jurisdictions), I was struck by the many common practices of the municipal courts in Ferguson that were considered unconstitutional, as these practices are common in so many areas around the country. For example, I live in a county (Marion County, Florida) where county judges (most notably Judge Thomas P. Thompson III according to public records) routinely sentences individuals to jail for simple misdemeanor Driving with Suspended, Revoked, or Expired License, and then levies incarceration fees of $50/day. What is so disturbing about this practice is that offenders are routinely sentenced to 30 days in jail for this violation and levied with $1,500 in incarceration fees, or are told that that have X number of days to return to court and show that they have obtained their license. If they cannot afford to get their license for any reason, they are sentenced to 60 days in jail and $3,000 in incarceration fees. Since when is it MANDATORY for any individual in the U.S. to possess a driver’s license, much less be forcibly ordered to show proof of one by a judge or be sentenced to jail (with total disregard to the individual’s actual ability to obtain said license).
Clearly, this makes it far more difficult for these individuals to maintain or find employment, and further diminishes their ability to actually pay the fines levied against them. These individuals, who are already financially strapped or impoverished, cannot drive to work (very necessary in most areas), cannot get a job because warrants are immediately ordered when they fail to appear in court (typically with no bond allowed), and pushed beyond the ability to actually resolve these misdemeanor charges. Moreover, these incarceration fees exceed the typical fines associated with these low-level offenses, making them unconstitutional per the Excessive Fines Clause of the Eighth Amendment.
Certainly, individuals driving with suspended, revoked, or expired licenses are not a danger to the community, and this is solely about collecting revenue for the County. Or worse, these fees are a punishment for being poor, and a way for the court to take financial advantage of already vulnerable populations who are less likely to be able to afford an attorney to help them settle their case. Even if they can afford a lawyer, most lawyers are unwilling to challenge the constitutionality of these sentences and fees due to a fear of future retaliation by these judges.
Clearly, any argument that incarceration fees are a way for courts to reduce taxpayer burden is absolutely ridiculous, as jailing individuals for simple low-level misdemeanors is not necessary to protect the safety of the public in the first place. The DOJ’s report is extremely enlightening on many levels, and while the findings of institutional racial bias are significant and contemptible (although no surprise to any of us), and institutional racism from law enforcement endangers the lives every black or brown man and women living in the U.S., let it not be missed that many courts in America are also systematically and without apology discriminating against the poor, no matter what their race.