Hot topic around the country– debtor’s prisons.
Here is the story. On May 1, the Fresno Bee ran a story under the headline: ACLU: Traffic-ticket policy by Valley courts unconstitutional. The core of the story follows:
A court policy of making Valley traffic offenders pay fees upfront in order to challenge a ticket in court is unconstitutional and unfairly impacts low-income residents, the associate director of the American Civil Liberties Union of Northern California said Friday.
In a move to give the public their right to due process, the ACLU has sent letters to Fresno and seven other counties, reminding them that a person’s right to appear in court — even traffic court — should not depend on their ability to pay a fee.
The Bee explained the back ground and significance as follows:
A recent report by the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights and other advocates found that California traffic courts have saddled millions…
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