Ferguson lawsuit sues city over alleged jailing of people too poor to pay fines

[unhappycamper]

http://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2015/feb/09/ferguson-lawsuit-sues-city-jailing-poor-pay-fines



Civil rights lawyers claim ‘municipal scheme designed to brutalise, to punish, and to profit’ by ignoring constitutional safeguards about collection of fines and fees

Ferguson lawsuit sues city over alleged jailing of people too poor to pay fines
Lauren Gambino
Monday 9 February 2015 15.27 EST

Six months after the streets of Ferguson erupted in response to the police shooting of Michael Brown, a group of civil rights lawyers is suing the city on behalf of residents who say they were jailed in deplorable conditions, for being too poor to pay court fines.

The lawsuit, which was filed on Sunday on behalf of 11 residents of Ferguson, alleges that the city has for many years operated a “municipal scheme designed to brutalize, to punish, and to profit” off the poorest members in the community. The suit claims city officials violated the US constitution by jailing people without making a meaningful inquiry into their ability to pay court-ordered fines or offering them a lawyer.

“Instead,” the lawsuit alleges, “they were threatened, abused, and left to languish in confinement at the mercy of local officials until their frightened family members could produce enough cash to buy their freedom or until city jail officials decided, days or weeks later, to let them out for free.”

The city of Ferguson disputed allegations made in the lawsuit that poor residents were targeted for unfair treatment.