A bill in the State Legislature would make California the first state to assess traffic fines by income level: The poorer you are, the less you would pay.
Column (California)
Thomas Fuller
New York Times (NYT)
May 15, 2017
READ THE FULL STORY HERE
Tags: Court Debt, Driver's license suspension, Traffic Tickets
Organizations mentioned/involved: Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights of the San Francisco Bay Area (LCCR)
Column (California)
Thomas Fuller
New York Times (NYT)
May 15, 2017
READ THE FULL STORY HERE
Tags: Court Debt, Driver's license suspension, Traffic Tickets
Organizations mentioned/involved: Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights of the San Francisco Bay Area (LCCR)
DETAILS
According to a report published this month by the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights of the San Francisco Bay Area, an advocacy group, California’s traffic fines are among the highest in the nation.
Running a stop sign has a base fine of $35, but once court fees are added it can cost $238, the group calculated.
The report, Paying More for Being Poor, makes the case that the traffic system is discriminatory because of racial profiling by police officers: Black drivers are more likely to be pulled over for no cause.