Swordsmyth
06-01-2018, 07:27 PM
Hilda Brucker went down to the municipal court in October 2016 after receiving a phone call. She hadn’t received a formal summons or known of any wrongdoing; instead, she thought she needed to clear a ticket.
But when she arrived at the Doraville, Georgia, courthouse, Brucker said she was placed before a judge and prosecutor who accused her of violating city code -- because of cracks in her driveway.
She was fined $100 and sentenced to six months criminal probation, even though this was the first time she was made aware her driveway was considered a problem.
Eventually the charges were dropped, but Brucker said Doraville “went too far” in going after her for the driveway’s appearance.
“It was just absolutely horrifying for someone like me who never even had a detention in high school,” Brucker told Fox News on Wednesday.
Brucker is part of an Institute for Justice (IJ) lawsuit against Doraville (http://ij.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/05/Brucker-et-al.-v.-City-of-Doraville_Plaintiffs-Complaint-for-Declaratory-and-Injunctive-Relief.pdf), a town of about 10,000 people just northeast of Atlanta. The lawsuit challenges the constitutionality of Doraville “using its law enforcement and municipal court system for revenue generation.”
The suit takes aim at the government's rampant fines over seemingly minor code infractions. About 25 percent of Doraville’s operating budget is reliant on fees and fines, according to IJ, a nonprofit law firm. From August 2016 to August 2017, it raked in about $3.8 million in fines, according to IJ's lawsuit.
“It’s unconstitutional because it creates a financial incentive for the city government … to ticket people,” Josh House (http://ij.org/staff/joshua-house/), an IJ attorney on the case, told Fox News. He said people in the town were being “punished” for the condition of their property by having to “fund the Doraville city government.”
The lawsuit also contends that "prosecutors and law enforcement have a financial interest in convicting the defendant," as they have an "incentive" to ticket and prosecute because they are paid from Doraville's revenue.
More at: http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2018/05/31/georgia-city-sued-by-fed-up-residents-over-ridiculous-fines-for-chipped-paint-driveway-cracks.html
But when she arrived at the Doraville, Georgia, courthouse, Brucker said she was placed before a judge and prosecutor who accused her of violating city code -- because of cracks in her driveway.
She was fined $100 and sentenced to six months criminal probation, even though this was the first time she was made aware her driveway was considered a problem.
Eventually the charges were dropped, but Brucker said Doraville “went too far” in going after her for the driveway’s appearance.
“It was just absolutely horrifying for someone like me who never even had a detention in high school,” Brucker told Fox News on Wednesday.
Brucker is part of an Institute for Justice (IJ) lawsuit against Doraville (http://ij.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/05/Brucker-et-al.-v.-City-of-Doraville_Plaintiffs-Complaint-for-Declaratory-and-Injunctive-Relief.pdf), a town of about 10,000 people just northeast of Atlanta. The lawsuit challenges the constitutionality of Doraville “using its law enforcement and municipal court system for revenue generation.”
The suit takes aim at the government's rampant fines over seemingly minor code infractions. About 25 percent of Doraville’s operating budget is reliant on fees and fines, according to IJ, a nonprofit law firm. From August 2016 to August 2017, it raked in about $3.8 million in fines, according to IJ's lawsuit.
“It’s unconstitutional because it creates a financial incentive for the city government … to ticket people,” Josh House (http://ij.org/staff/joshua-house/), an IJ attorney on the case, told Fox News. He said people in the town were being “punished” for the condition of their property by having to “fund the Doraville city government.”
The lawsuit also contends that "prosecutors and law enforcement have a financial interest in convicting the defendant," as they have an "incentive" to ticket and prosecute because they are paid from Doraville's revenue.
More at: http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2018/05/31/georgia-city-sued-by-fed-up-residents-over-ridiculous-fines-for-chipped-paint-driveway-cracks.html