In the Middle of a Pandemic, This Alabama City Is Still Throwing People in Jail for Unpaid Traffic Tickets and Missed Court Dates
County offices and courts are closed for COVID-19, but the jails are full.
Fines
COVID-19 Leads Some States To Show Mercy on Petty Fines Owed
It seems unlikely that most Americans who owe fines for petty crimes will be in a better position to pay them in 60 to 90 days.
Federal Appeals Court: Florida Can't Require Payment of Court Debts To Regain Voting Rights
"Equally guilty but wealthier felons are offered access to the ballot while these plaintiffs continue to be disenfranchised, perhaps forever."
The Illinois Comptroller Will Cease Collecting Red Light Camera Fines Amid Corruption Scandal
"As a matter of public policy, this system is clearly broken," says Comptroller Susana A. Mendoza.
Relying on Petty Fines To Fund City Government Can Have Serious Consequences
"Taxation by citation" harms the harmless and destroys trust in civic institutions.
Miami Beach's $100,000 Fines for Airbnb Rentals Are Illegal, Court Rules
Miami Beach's crackdown on Airbnb is "in jarring conflict" with a state law capping municipal fines at $1,000 per day, Judge Michael Hanzman ruled.
Chicago Impounded This Grandmother's Car For a Pot Offense She Didn't Commit. Now She Owes $6,000
Allie Nelson is the latest plaintiff in a lawsuit challenging Chicago's vehicle impound racket, which seizes cars from the innocent and guilty alike.
Woman Sentenced to 12 Years in Prison for Selling $31 of Marijuana Lands Back in Jail for Court Fees
Fines continued to pile up for almost a decade.
New Orleans Magistrates Get a Cut of Fines and Bail Money, and That's a Problem
Two federal court rulings cite a significant conflict of interest.
Is Your Hometown Balancing Its Budget by Fining Everybody It Can? Here's How To Find Out.
Governing puts together a database of cities and towns addicted to money from fines and forfeitures.
It Wasn't Just a Chokehold That Killed Eric Garner
His death resulted from a violent confrontation that never should have happened.
New York City Zealots Are Trying To Ban Foie Gras
A global culinary capital considers surrendering to the nanny state.
An $80 Fine for a Busted Taillight Ends With a Woman Being Tased
"I don't think that I deserve to pay $80 for something that is fixable — and I can fix it, if that's all you want me to do."
Why Did New York Have to Decriminalize Marijuana Possession Twice?
The new law eliminates a loophole that allowed police to continue arresting people for something that was not supposed to be a crime anymore.
EU Data Privacy Fines Are Getting Steep. Will This Be the New Normal?
And will the end result encourage companies to try to keep cybersecurity breaches secret?
A Mural Quoting Trump at His Most Profane Is Protected Speech, Judge Rules
New Orleans can't use zoning regulations to decide what counts as artistic expression.
Government Bullies Want to Seize This Man's Home Because of Overgrown Grass
If governments can oppress, they usually will.
Stossel: Mow Your Lawn or Lose Your House!
Florida man may lose home because he didn’t cut his grass.
New York City Officially Launches Absurd Ban on Adding CBD to Food, Coffee
Cannabidiol products are legal for sale and consumption, but adding it to other things is somehow forbidden.
Lawsuit Challenges Chicago Towing Racket After City Destroyed Disabled Woman's Van
The lawsuit is the second filed this year challenging Chicago's punitive and corrupt towing program.
Cop Arrests Mom for Letting Kids Wait in Car During 10-Minute Errand
A Pennsylvania mom faces reckless endangerment charges for assuming her children—ages 2, 5, and 7—could survive a very short wait.
Widely Unpopular Bill de Blasio Leads Major Crackdown on Highly Popular Ice Cream Trucks Over Unpaid Parking Tickets
New York's parking regulations make numerous traffic tickets just another cost of doing business for the city's food trucks.
Illinois' Top Court Blesses Chicago's Cronyist Anti-Food-Truck Regulations
Restaurateurs get protection from small competitors. It’s the citizens who lose out on delicious food choices.
Texas Poised To Ban All Red Light Cameras
The oft-abused tool is used more to raise revenue than to protect public safety.
Chelsea Manning Faces $1,000-a-Day Fines, Was Imprisoned Again Yesterday After Refusing to Testify for Grand Jury
Plus: An old drug warrior learns new tricks, Taiwan legalizes same-sex marriage, and more...
Florida City Tries To Steal an Elderly Man's House Over Uncut Grass
Institute for Justice sues Dunedin, Fla., over the $29,000 in fines imposed without due process over Jim Ficken's unmowed lawn.
Chicago Impounds Innocent People's Cars and Soaks Them in Fines. Now It's Getting Sued
Following a Reason investigation into Chicago's punitive vehicle impound program, a new lawsuit alleges the practice violates Chicagoans constitutional rights.
Kamala Harris Offers a Crappy Apology to Parents Who Went to Jail Because Their Kids Missed School
Harris supported a truancy law that listed jail time as a punishment for parents.
Zuckerberg's Plea: Regulate Me Before I Violate People's Privacy Again!
Facebook would prosper in a less robust market.
Florida Brands Petty Thieves as Lifelong Felons, But That Might Change
Florida's $300 felony theft threshold turns petty crimes into prison time. That might change soon.
ACLU Challenges Laws Criminalizing Panhandling
The civil rights group argues that such laws infringe on free speech.
Virginia May Reinstate Licenses for Drivers with Unpaid Court Fees
Gov. Ralph Northam pushes for reform.
Utah's New Beer Law Isn't Lifting Many Spirits
The good news? Utah is lifting its alcohol cap! The bad news? The new cap is still quite low.
PETA Sics Cops on California Foie Gras Dinner
Radicals team up with the food police to infringe on our right to eat.
Florida Republicans Advance Bill That Would Sharply Limit Restoration of Voting Rights to Felony Offenders
A Florida House committee advanced a bill that would require people with felony records to pay off their court debts before they could regain the right to vote.
The Zoning Code Banned His Tall Fence, but Not the Naked Mannequin Party Behind It
California man highlights the absurdity of dumb regulations.
Supreme Court Delivers Unanimous Victory for Asset Forfeiture Challenge
The Eighth Amendment prohibition against excessive fines and fees applies to states as well, SCOTUS rules, opening a new way to challenge outlandish forfeitures.
Feds Fine Business $60,000 for Selling Non-Prescription Contact Lenses Without a Prescription
The California-based retailer could have been hit with a fine of $575,000.
Miami Beach Shut Off Home's Electricity, Water, Over Unpaid Airbnb Fines
The fine is likely unconstitutional, and the city's strong-arm tactics were blocked by a judge this week.
California Finally Legalizes Street Vending
The Trump administration's deportation push finally forced the Golden State to stop criminalizing everything.
Federal Judges Order New Orleans Courts to Stop Shaking Down Citizens with Fees, High Bail
When half of a court's funding comes from criminal defendants, incentives get twisted.
Florida Couple Gets to Keep Home's 'Starry' Paint Job; Mayor Must Publicly Apologize for $10,000 Fine
In a settlement reached Tuesday night, two residents of Mount Dora, Florida, will receive $15,000 and permission to keep their Van Gogh-inspired paint job.
Federal Judge Rules Against Suspending Poor People's Driver's Licenses for Unpaid Court Fines
"[A]s applied to indigent drivers, the law is not merely ineffective; it is powerfully counterproductive."
Chicago Has Raked in $114 Million in Vehicle Impound Fines Since 2012
Drug violations generated more than $36 million of that.
Supreme Court Agrees to Hear Significant New Case About Civil Asset Forfeiture and the Bill of Rights
The justices will hear oral arguments next term in Timbs v. Indiana.
St. Louis Town Agrees to Stop Bankrolling Itself by Fining Its Residents into the Poorhouse
Pagedale, Missouri, will stop trying to fine you for having mismatched curtains or saggy pants.
