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2015/07/10 18:41:46
Subject: Changes are in store in the aftermath of Ferguson Riots
ST. LOUIS • Gov. Jay Nixon on Thursday signed a broad municipal court reform bill that will cap court revenue and impose new requirements in an attempt to end what the bill’s sponsor called predatory practices aimed at the poor.
Nixon called the reform bill the “most sweeping” municipal court reform bill in state history, and the bill’s primary sponsor, Sen. Eric Schmitt, R-Glendale, called it the “most significant.”
Schmitt said that the bill would help address a “breakdown of trust” between people and the government and court system. “Healing that,” he said, “is something worth fighting for.” He said people have the right “not to be thrown in jail because you’re a couple of weeks ... late on a fine for having a taillight out.”
Moving forward, there would no longer be a system of “taxation by citation,” Schmitt said.
The bill goes into effect Aug. 28, but municipalities have three to six years to comply with some provisions.
The bill limits fines, bans failure to appear charges for missing a court date and bans jail as a sentence for most minor traffic offenses. It also restricts how much of their general operating revenue cities can raise from court fines and fees.
“Under this bill, cops will stop being revenue agents and go back to being cops,” Nixon said.
Cities are required to provide an annual financial report to the state auditor. A municipal judge must certify that the court is complying with required procedures. Police departments must be accredited, and must have written policies on use of force and pursuit. City ordinances must be available to the public. And the Missouri Supreme Court is required to develop rules regarding conflicts of interest in the court system.
Failure to file the reports, turn over excess money or comply with other provisions could trigger the transfer of all pending court cases to circuit court, the loss of sales tax revenue and disincorporation.
Better Together, a group seeking to eliminate fragmented government in St. Louis County and St. Louis, said in a statement that the bill will cut down on the “criminalization of poverty” and prevent municipalities from balancing “their budgets on the backs of poor citizens.”
Nixon signed the bill in the ceremonial courtroom at the Eastern Court of Appeals in the Old Post Office Building in St. Louis.
The issue gained attention after the fatal shooting of Michael Brown in Ferguson last August.
In March, a U.S. Department of Justice report criticized Ferguson police and courts, saying that they operated “not with the primary goal of administering justice or protecting the rights of the accused, but of maximizing revenue.”
Last year, municipal courts in St. Louis County generated more than $52 million. People who can afford lawyers can get their cases amended to minor infractions. Those in power can call in favors to get their cases dismissed. The poor are sometimes jailed if they miss court or can’t afford to pay, a Post-Dispatch review found.
Hours before Nixon signed the law, Rich McClure, co-chair of the Ferguson Commission, created last year after the Ferguson protests, commended the legislation, calling it a “first step” toward reforming the courts.
The group plans to make other recommendations in a report due in September.
But on Thursday, Ferguson Commission’s Municipal Courts & Governance working group struggled to reach a consensus about what those reforms should look like.
One major point of contention was how judges, prosecutors and city officials should keep their roles separate to prevent conflicts of interest.
The sharpest divisions were between those whose cities and businesses profit directly from the courts and those who represent clients who have become ensnared in them.
A draft of a document written by working group member Pamela Westbrooks-Hodge accused municipal officials, judges, prosecutors and police officers of conspiring to target certain racial and ethnic groups with traffic tickets to raise revenue.
“I have rarely seen a document which succeeded in being as offensive and insulting to as many people in so few words,” said Kevin O’Keefe, of the firm Curtis, Heinz, Garrett and O’Keefe.
O’Keefe’s firm represents more than 20 cities with lawyers who serve as prosecutors, judges and city attorneys.
But Thomas Harvey, executive director of ArchCity Defenders, a firm that represents poor and indigent defendants, said cities routinely budget for revenue from their courts and use the money to sustain themselves.
“The police aren’t in the room when the budget is made, and yet they somehow magically write the requisite number of tickets to achieve that revenue level,” Harvey said. “How does that happen unless there is not at least some implicit conspiracy among the principals in that group?”
The working group eventually agreed to remove the word conspire from the document, and made other changes to soften the language.
In the end, members agreed on a recommendation that would address the separation of powers issue by prohibiting collusion among city and judicial officials as a violation punishable by law.
The group is also recommending that municipal officials, police officers, prosecutors and judges sign an annual code of ethics that prohibits “targeting or collusion.”
Other recommendations include recalling as many as 490,000 existing warrants that have been issued in St. Louis County for failing to appear, treating minor ordinance violations as civil violations and having the Missouri Supreme Court consolidate the area’s 81 municipal courts.
The working group will pass on its recommendations to the full Ferguson commission next week — with a caveat “that there was strong disagreement on some of these.”
Still plenty of work needs to be done... we'll see how this shakes out.
Live Ork, Be Ork. or D'Ork!
2015/07/10 18:56:26
Subject: Changes are in store in the aftermath of Ferguson Riots
Hopefully the same reforms come to MD. These fat donutsucking losers stand around trying to bust you for going 2 mph over the speed limit when you're just trying to get to work on time. They should be spending that time on PT, not harassing productive citizens.
This message was edited 2 times. Last update was at 2015/07/10 18:59:21
NuggzTheNinja wrote: Hopefully the same reforms come to MD. These fat donutsucking losers stand around trying to bust you for going 2 mph over the speed limit when you're just trying to get to work on time. They should be spending that time on PT, not harassing productive citizens.
I feel for you
Has anyone ever driven through Emporia, VA on I95 and/or SR58?
Do the POSTED SPEED LIMIT
Proud Member of the Infidels of OIF/OEF
No longer defending the US Military or US Gov't. Just going to ""**feed into your fears**"" with Duffel Blog Did not fight my way up on top the food chain to become a Vegan...
Warning: Stupid Allergy
Once you pull the pin, Mr. Grenade is no longer your friend
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RIP Muhammad Ali.
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2015/07/10 19:30:32
Subject: Changes are in store in the aftermath of Ferguson Riots
Sheriffs are campaigning to pressure Google Inc. to turn off a feature on its Waze traffic software that warns drivers when police are nearby. They say one of the technology industry's most popular mobile apps could put officers' lives in danger from would-be police killers who can find where their targets are parked.
Waze, which Google purchased for $966 million in 2013, is a combination of GPS navigation and social networking. Fifty million users in 200 countries turn to the free service for real-time traffic guidance and warnings about nearby congestion, car accidents, speed traps or traffic cameras, construction zones, potholes, stalled vehicles or unsafe weather conditions.
To Sergio Kopelev, a reserve deputy sheriff in Southern California, Waze is also a stalking app for law enforcement.
There are no known connections between any attack on police and Waze, but law enforcers such as Kopelev are concerned it's only a matter of time. They are seeking support among other law enforcement trade groups to pressure Google to disable the police-reporting function. The emerging policy debate places Google again at the center of an ongoing global debate about public safety, consumer rights and privacy.
Waze users mark police presence on maps without much distinction other than "visible" or "hidden." Users see a police icon, but it's not immediately clear whether police are there for a speed trap, a sobriety check or a lunch break. The police generally are operating in public spaces.
A Waze spokeswoman, Julie Mossler, said the company thinks deeply about safety and security. She said Waze works with the New York Police Department and others around the world by sharing information. Google declined to comment.
"These relationships keep citizens safe, promote faster emergency response and help alleviate traffic congestion," Mossler said.
Google has a complicated relationship with government and law enforcement. The company worked closely with the Obama administration to defend itself against hacking by China's government, and it is regularly compelled to turn over to police worldwide copies of emails or other information about its customers. Last year, after disclosures that the National Security Agency had illicitly broken into Google's overseas Internet communication lines, Google and other technology companies rolled out encryption for users, which the U.S. government said could hamper law enforcement investigations. Also last year, Google and other companies sued the U.S. to allow them to more fully disclose to customers details about how much information they were required to hand over each year.
Sheriff Mike Brown of Bedford County, Virginia, said the police-reporting feature, which he called the "police stalker," presents a danger to law enforcement.
"The police community needs to coordinate an effort to have the owner, Google, act like the responsible corporate citizen they have always been and remove this feature from the application even before any litigation or statutory action," said Brown, who also serves as the chairman of the National Sheriffs Association technology committee.
Nuala O'Connor, head of the Center for Democracy and Technology, a Washington civil liberties group, said it would not be appropriate for Google to disable the police-reporting feature.
"I do not think it is legitimate to ask a person-to-person communication to cease simply because it reports on publicly visible law enforcement," she said. She said a bigger concern among privacy advocates is how much information about customers Waze shares with law enforcement, since the service necessarily monitors their location continually as long as it's turned on.
Brown and Kopelev raised concerns during the meeting of the National Sheriffs Association winter conference in Washington. They pointed to the Instagram account of the man accused of shooting two NYPD officers last month. Ismaaiyl Brinsley posted a screenshot from Waze on his Instagram account along with messages threatening police. Investigators do not believe he used Waze to ambush the officers, in part because police say Brinsley tossed his cellphone more than two miles from where he shot the officers.
Kopelev said he hadn't heard about the Waze app until mid-December when he saw his wife using it. Afterward, Kopelev said he couldn't stop thinking about the app and was motivated to act by the NYPD shooting. While attending the funeral of one of the officers in New York, he spoke with Brown, his former boss. Brown asked Kopelev to discuss Waze at the upcoming sheriffs' association conference. Kopelev refers to his efforts as his "personal jihad."
The executive director of the Fraternal Order of Police, Jim Pasco, said his organization has concerns, too.
"I can think of 100 ways that it could present an officer-safety issue," Pasco said. "There's no control over who uses it. So, if you're a criminal and you want to rob a bank, hypothetically, you use your Waze."
This is not the first time law enforcement has raised concerns with these types of apps. In 2011, four U.S. senators asked Apple to remove all applications that alert users to drunken driving checkpoints. Nokia removed the sobriety check tracking function of one of the most popular apps, Trapster, according to Trapster founder Pete Tenereillo. Trapster was eventually discontinued at the end of last year due to Waze's popularity.
The police argument seems a bit of a stretch, but that is a topic for another thread.
2015/07/10 21:35:01
Subject: Changes are in store in the aftermath of Ferguson Riots
.... and this after Ferguson PD was found to have fabricated, out of whole cloth, reports that gangs were "joining together to kill cops".
Wasn't that B-more?
I may be getting my riots confused though.
"Sometimes the only victory possible is to keep your opponent from winning." - The Emperor, from The Outcast Dead.
"Tell your gods we are coming for them, and that their realms will burn as ours did." -Thostos Bladestorm
2015/07/11 01:40:37
Subject: Re:Changes are in store in the aftermath of Ferguson Riots
It was Baltimore
Being the Blood and Cripes both join forces in front of the police line with/while Geraldo was out that night (maybe the other guy with Trump like hair) a day after that reports of LEO killing came out
Proud Member of the Infidels of OIF/OEF
No longer defending the US Military or US Gov't. Just going to ""**feed into your fears**"" with Duffel Blog Did not fight my way up on top the food chain to become a Vegan...
Warning: Stupid Allergy
Once you pull the pin, Mr. Grenade is no longer your friend
DE 6700
Harlequin 2500
RIP Muhammad Ali.
Jihadin, Scorched Earth 791. Leader of the Pork Eating Crusader. Alpha
2015/07/11 01:52:17
Subject: Changes are in store in the aftermath of Ferguson Riots
sparkywtf wrote: Only issue is the dropping of failure to appear.... why even bother going then?
Personally, I think minor citations like speeding tickets and parking tickets shouldn't even need a physical trip to the courthouse. Go to the city's website, type in your ticket's number, and enter your payment information and be done with it.
"Through the darkness of future past, the magician longs to see.
One chants out between two worlds: Fire, walk with me." - Twin Peaks
"You listen to me. While I will admit to a certain cynicism, the fact is that I am a naysayer and hatchetman in the fight against violence. I pride myself in taking a punch and I'll gladly take another because I choose to live my life in the company of Gandhi and King. My concerns are global. I reject absolutely revenge, aggression, and retaliation. The foundation of such a method... is love. I love you Sheriff Truman." - Twin Peaks
2015/07/11 02:12:52
Subject: Changes are in store in the aftermath of Ferguson Riots
sparkywtf wrote: Only issue is the dropping of failure to appear.... why even bother going then?
Personally, I think minor citations like speeding tickets and parking tickets shouldn't even need a physical trip to the courthouse. Go to the city's website, type in your ticket's number, and enter your payment information and be done with it.
Insurance companies would love that. People only go to court to get fines reduced, preferably so no points are added to their license. Just a few points can double rates.
"Sometimes the only victory possible is to keep your opponent from winning." - The Emperor, from The Outcast Dead.
"Tell your gods we are coming for them, and that their realms will burn as ours did." -Thostos Bladestorm
2015/07/11 03:27:11
Subject: Changes are in store in the aftermath of Ferguson Riots
sparkywtf wrote: Only issue is the dropping of failure to appear.... why even bother going then?
"Failure to appear charges". I took that to mean adding fines for not showing up. Around here you show up and they drop it, unless it's a major infraction.
sparkywtf wrote: Only issue is the dropping of failure to appear.... why even bother going then?
"Failure to appear charges". I took that to mean adding fines for not showing up. Around here you show up and they drop it, unless it's a major infraction.
That's usually what it is. You have two options:
Option 1: hand out a charge for speeding, set a court date, and if that person doesn't show up you can issue a bench warrant if you so desire. It still only leaves the person with the single original charge.
Option 2: hand out a charge for speeding, set a court date, and if that person doesn't show up you can issue an additional failure to appear charge. Now the person has two charges pending, rinse and repeat.
2015/07/11 15:04:28
Subject: Changes are in store in the aftermath of Ferguson Riots
I can only see this as a positive. We need more changes like this to move the country away from the current model of privatized criminal justice that treats crime as an additional revenue stream.
Now we just need more progress in eliminating civil asset forfeiture without a criminal conviction.
2015/07/11 15:13:08
Subject: Changes are in store in the aftermath of Ferguson Riots
sparkywtf wrote: Only issue is the dropping of failure to appear.... why even bother going then?
Personally, I think minor citations like speeding tickets and parking tickets shouldn't even need a physical trip to the courthouse. Go to the city's website, type in your ticket's number, and enter your payment information and be done with it.
In Minnesota and Wisconsin, the ticket can be paid online, through mail, or in person. You only have to go to court if you want to get it reduced or fight the ticket. If you don't do either, you should be punished. Adding fines to a fine that they already are refusing to pay would be kind of stupid, because they are already ignoring it. I know when I got my Wisconsin ticket, I had like 30 days to pay (court date), and the court gave me another 60 days to pay it from there (reduced speed, same fine). Most of them are pretty willing to work out payment around here.
Sinful Hero wrote:
sparkywtf wrote: Only issue is the dropping of failure to appear.... why even bother going then?
"Failure to appear charges". I took that to mean adding fines for not showing up. Around here you show up and they drop it, unless it's a major infraction.
Failure to appear charges are stupid for a minor traffic violation, but at some point people have to pay. Also jail time for traffic violations is stupid. But at some point, people should lose their license.
This message was edited 1 time. Last update was at 2015/07/11 17:54:27
I hope this sort of thing spreads to other regions.
Such as the Entire USA.
Houston is also overflowing with Taxation by citation.
And they make it such that if you live out of state, it is impossible to get a lawyer for court (the Lawyers in Houston cannot take a case in a lower court unless the defendant is a Texas resident).
Hopefully, given the ticket I have to deal with, I can just get it dropped considering it is the only ticket I have had in 13 years, and one of two in nearly 25 years.
But nice to see this happening.
MB
2015/07/11 21:12:35
Subject: Changes are in store in the aftermath of Ferguson Riots
I'm kind of torn on this. I think the whole "taxation by citation" thing is ridiculous. Cities shouldn't be fleecing their citizens dry.
It reminds me of those shows they had on TRU-TV where traffic enforcement cops were followed around. They would issue huge tickets for the most trival things. That gak needs to stop.
At the same time...law is law and needs to be enforced.
1500pt
2500pt
2015/07/11 21:24:35
Subject: Changes are in store in the aftermath of Ferguson Riots
Supertony51 wrote: I'm kind of torn on this. I think the whole "taxation by citation" thing is ridiculous. Cities shouldn't be fleecing their citizens dry.
It reminds me of those shows they had on TRU-TV where traffic enforcement cops were followed around. They would issue huge tickets for the most trival things. That gak needs to stop.
At the same time...law is law and needs to be enforced.
The problem comes when the law, and its enforcement, often locks people into perpetual legal troubles for relatively stupid stuff. Someone does something dumb once, or can't pay a ticket, gets arrested, loses their job, can't pay costs, resorts to crime, gets arrested, gets divorced, can't pay child support, gets arrested, can't get a new job with the rap sheet, etc.
It can really be a vicious cycle in many places where something small very often rapidly escalates into life destroying consequences that far exceed the necessities of enforcement.
IRON WITHIN, IRON WITHOUT.
New Heavy Gear Log! Also...Grey Knights! The correct pronunciation is Imperial Guard and Stormtroopers, "Astra Militarum" and "Tempestus Scions" are something you'll find at Hogwarts.
2015/07/12 14:36:00
Subject: Changes are in store in the aftermath of Ferguson Riots
Supertony51 wrote: I'm kind of torn on this. I think the whole "taxation by citation" thing is ridiculous. Cities shouldn't be fleecing their citizens dry.
It reminds me of those shows they had on TRU-TV where traffic enforcement cops were followed around. They would issue huge tickets for the most trival things. That gak needs to stop.
At the same time...law is law and needs to be enforced.
The problem comes when the law, and its enforcement, often locks people into perpetual legal troubles for relatively stupid stuff. Someone does something dumb once, or can't pay a ticket, gets arrested, loses their job, can't pay costs, resorts to crime, gets arrested, gets divorced, can't pay child support, gets arrested, can't get a new job with the rap sheet, etc.
It can really be a vicious cycle in many places where something small very often rapidly escalates into life destroying consequences that far exceed the necessities of enforcement.
Absolutely. This state of affairs, which is sadly ubiquitous, really invalidates the two main claims of law enforcement, namely,
1) Cops are helping the community. Nonsense...99% of the time a roving lynch mob with a good moral compass would accomplish far more in terms of protecting the community. And I don't know anyone who has ever been arrested and is happy about it, regardless of what these losers say on Cops.
2) Cops work a dangerous job. It doesn't even make the top 10...they are professional meter maids who earned poor grades in high school, but kept a clean enough record to apply for the job.
Once people stop blindly worshiping law enforcement, we can begin to have serious conversations about restricting their (everyone from judges to corrections officers) legal powers back to reasonable levels. Do you really trust a guy with a 2.0 GPA to interpret laws he doesn't fully understand that will determine your future? Do you really trust a judge to investigate the home to which he's issuing a no knock warrant? Hint: you shouldn't, because they get it wrong all the time.
NuggzTheNinja wrote: Hopefully the same reforms come to MD. These fat donutsucking losers stand around trying to bust you for going 2 mph over the speed limit when you're just trying to get to work on time. They should be spending that time on PT, not harassing productive citizens.
Or you could stop rationalising why you deserve to be special and be allowed to break the law without consequences. There's a very real problem with predatory practices, but it's not that the police do their job.
For thirteen years I had a dog with fur the darkest black. For thirteen years he was my friend, oh how I want him back.
2015/07/12 15:06:31
Subject: Re:Changes are in store in the aftermath of Ferguson Riots
NuggzTheNinja wrote: Hopefully the same reforms come to MD. These fat donutsucking losers stand around trying to bust you for going 2 mph over the speed limit when you're just trying to get to work on time. They should be spending that time on PT, not harassing productive citizens.
Or you could stop rationalising why you deserve to be special and be allowed to break the law without consequences. There's a very real problem with predatory practices, but it's not that the police do their job.
Wow...I didn't know that the drive to get on your hands and knees to lick boot was so strong outside the US.
While driving 2 mph over the speed limit is technically "breaking the law" usually speed limits in the US are set with the knowledge that people will exceed it regularly by at least 5 mph. I doubt most cars' speedometers are capable of the precision to ensure that you are less than 2 mph from the reading, as they are measuring *average* speed over short time periods.
#edit: Upon further research, speedometers are usually standardized to +/- 10%. If you're in a zone where the limit is 30 mph, then you can be as much as 3 mph over the speed limit even though you are, to your knowledge, following the limit. There is further error inherent to the device with which they record your speed. Basically, arguing that someone going 2 mph over the speed limit is "breaking the law" is totally ridiculous considering that measurement error alone can account for far more than that, especially at highway speeds.
This message was edited 3 times. Last update was at 2015/07/12 15:25:25
d-usa wrote: Smoking a little pot isn't breaking the law, considering that drug screens have known false positives.
Just because one of the detection methods is not fool proof does not mean it is illegal. Radar guns occasionally generate incorrect data, that does not make exceeding the speed limit lawful.
2015/07/12 18:44:27
Subject: Changes are in store in the aftermath of Ferguson Riots
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