Stories
Slash Boxes
Comments

SoylentNews is people

posted by on Thursday December 29 2016, @11:35AM   Printer-friendly
from the how-else-can-they-afford-their-toys dept.

In the wrong place at the wrong time? Tough luck, says the state of Colorado. If you are arrested the police will charge you a $25 booking fee. If you can't pay on the spot, don't worry, they'll bill you. Even if charges are dismissed, or you are aquitted, you still pay a price! But fear not, if you can prove you are innocent (beyond reasonable doubt) you can get your money back. This is not something new, but something that people should be aware of.

Charon writes:

There is a case before the US Supreme Court, Nelson v. Colorado, which will be argued on Jan. 9, regarding the difficulty of getting fees and penalties refunded when defendants are found innocent.

And it's not just Colorado. Another case from Minnesota:

Corey Statham had $46 in his pockets when he was arrested in Ramsey County, Minn., and charged with disorderly conduct. He was released two days later, and the charges were dismissed.

But the county kept $25 of Mr. Statham's money as a "booking fee." It returned the remaining $21 on a debit card subject to an array of fees. In the end, it cost Mr. Statham $7.25 to withdraw what was left of his money.

The Supreme Court will soon consider whether to hear Mr. Statham's challenge to Ramsey County's fund-raising efforts, which are part of a national trend to extract fees and fines from people who find themselves enmeshed in the criminal justice system.


Original Submission

This discussion has been archived. No new comments can be posted.
Display Options Threshold/Breakthrough Mark All as Read Mark All as Unread
The Fine Print: The following comments are owned by whoever posted them. We are not responsible for them in any way.
  • (Score: 5, Insightful) by Snotnose on Thursday December 29 2016, @11:41AM

    by Snotnose (1623) on Thursday December 29 2016, @11:41AM (#447038)

    It gives the cops a reason to arrest to, whether you've actually done anything or not. Police can't get a raise because the state says it doesn't have the money? Just start arresting people willy nilly and watch the cash roll in.

    --
    Why shouldn't we judge a book by it's cover? It's got the author, title, and a summary of what the book's about.
    • (Score: 4, Touché) by takyon on Thursday December 29 2016, @11:46AM

      by takyon (881) <reversethis-{gro ... s} {ta} {noykat}> on Thursday December 29 2016, @11:46AM (#447041) Journal

      They should institute a "shooting fee". But not per shooting incident. No, the suspect/victim has to pay $10 per bullet fired by the police. This is needed to ensure the police have an adequate amount of the best equipment available.

      --
      [SIG] 10/28/2017: Soylent Upgrade v14 [soylentnews.org]
    • (Score: 3, Insightful) by isostatic on Thursday December 29 2016, @12:03PM

      by isostatic (365) on Thursday December 29 2016, @12:03PM (#447046) Journal

      They should make it as a percentage of wealth. 1/1000th of your wealth when you get arrested. Have $30k that's $30 fee. Have $300 and it's a quarter. Have $300 million and you're talking $300k.

      The law that allows this would soon be stopped.

      • (Score: 3, Insightful) by Dunbal on Thursday December 29 2016, @01:26PM

        by Dunbal (3515) on Thursday December 29 2016, @01:26PM (#447064)

        The flaw in your logic is that rich people are seldom arrested. The police would run out of funds, and rich people would be unscathed. Or is that what you intended?

        • (Score: 3, Insightful) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday December 29 2016, @02:23PM

          by Anonymous Coward on Thursday December 29 2016, @02:23PM (#447079)

          The flaw in your logic is that rich people are seldom arrested.

          That's true now, when there's no incentive to arrest rich people.

          The police would run out of funds, and rich people would be unscathed.

          Well-connected people would remain unscathed. But you can bet the police would identify people who are rich, but not well connected, and arrest them for profit.

          • (Score: 2) by krishnoid on Thursday December 29 2016, @09:45PM

            by krishnoid (1156) on Thursday December 29 2016, @09:45PM (#447200)

            "Sure you can have my $25. You'll just have to travel to the Zurich branch and submit this voucher. Oh no officer, I don't have any funds [ok, mild exaggeration] in the US."
            "I understand, Mr. Dirtbag. Alternatively, we can subject you to about 45 seconds of police brutality instead. Is that ok?"
            "Certainly, officer. I'll just have my attorney observe to make sure it's all done properly. Wouldn't want this to turn into a lawsuit, now!"
            "You're free to go sir."
            "It's been good doing business with you, officer."

      • (Score: 3, Informative) by Immerman on Thursday December 29 2016, @03:21PM

        by Immerman (3985) on Thursday December 29 2016, @03:21PM (#447092)

        As I recall, they do something similar for speeding tickets in... Germany? I guess they got tired of rich bastards driving recklessly in overpowered cars and just considering a fine part of the cost of the game, so changed things so that the fines are similarly painful to everyone. Sounded like it worked pretty well too.

        Make that the norm, and yeah, you'd soon see illegitimate fines eliminated.

        • (Score: 2) by aclarke on Thursday December 29 2016, @03:41PM

          by aclarke (2049) on Thursday December 29 2016, @03:41PM (#447099) Homepage
          The record fine is at least about CHF300k: http://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-10960230 [bbc.com]
        • (Score: 2) by maxwell demon on Thursday December 29 2016, @09:39PM

          by maxwell demon (1608) on Thursday December 29 2016, @09:39PM (#447198) Journal

          From Wikipedia: [wikipedia.org]

          A day-fine or day fine or unit fine is a unit of fine payment that, above a minimum fine, is based on the offender's daily personal income. […]

          Jurisdictions employing the day-fine include Finland (Finnish: päiväsakko), Sweden (Swedish: dagsbot), Denmark (Danish: dagbøde), Croatia, Germany (German: Tagessatz), Switzerland, and Macao.

          --
          The Tao of math: The numbers you can count are not the real numbers.
    • (Score: 4, Interesting) by TheGratefulNet on Thursday December 29 2016, @03:32PM

      by TheGratefulNet (659) on Thursday December 29 2016, @03:32PM (#447096)

      all these fees are the fault of the republicans and stupid middle america who was conned into thinking that 'taxes are always bad, never allow an increase!'.

      what else are they going to do? if you deny taxes to the people who work for the public interest (ha! I choked a bit on that bit of wording) then they will steal it some other way. they will find a way, and the way they find will be MUCH WORSE than if everyone just paid their fair share.

      but no. the repuglicans keep forcing this 'dont pay any more taxes!' bullshit and this is what we are left with. roads that can't be fixed, sewers that fall apart, bridges that crumble and are unsafe, power grid and network grid that need serious upgrading, etc etc. but lets not pay more taxes! no no no. gotta keep trickle-down-jesus happy.

      sigh ;(

      --
      "It is now safe to switch off your computer."
      • (Score: 0, Troll) by jdavidb on Thursday December 29 2016, @03:46PM

        by jdavidb (5690) on Thursday December 29 2016, @03:46PM (#447100) Homepage Journal

        what else are they going to do? if you deny taxes to the people who work for the public interest (ha! I choked a bit on that bit of wording) then they will steal it some other way. they will find a way, and the way they find will be MUCH WORSE than if everyone just paid their fair share. but no. the repuglicans keep forcing this 'dont pay any more taxes!' bullshit

        You explain perfectly in your post that we have a bunch of parasites and then castigate the Republicans for trying to starve the parasites. Seems like the solution is to fire the parasites.

        --
        ⓋⒶ☮✝🕊 Secession is the right of all sentient beings
        • (Score: 4, Insightful) by TheRaven on Thursday December 29 2016, @04:29PM

          by TheRaven (270) on Thursday December 29 2016, @04:29PM (#447114) Journal
          Your metaphor explains exactly why it's a bad idea: starving a parasite rarely works, you end up starving the host. Simply cutting funding creates conditions where corruption thrives, it doesn't improve the quality of services or the value for money.
          --
          sudo mod me up
          • (Score: 5, Insightful) by jmorris on Thursday December 29 2016, @05:32PM

            by jmorris (4844) on Thursday December 29 2016, @05:32PM (#447143)

            Well if we are agreed they are parasites and cutting direct funding only inspired them to new levels of corruption, what is your solution? I can see two:

            1. Double down on the penalties. These sort of things always start in Democrat Machine cities where they can prey on their helpless underclass. They can't sue, they don't even know how and it being a Machine it generally wouldn't matter anyway unless someone with really deep pockets donated the legal firepower to get such a minor case all they way into Federal Court. So RICO the Machines? Or just let the God Emperor go all in and RICO the Democratic Party in general?

            2. Kill them. Give em "helicopter rides." Not the cops, the policymakers who thought this evil scheme up.

            Somehow I doubt you find either of those acceptable, so what are we Republicans to do to bring relief to this oppression? Given our lack of control of the federal machinery (just having a POTUS doesn't mean much, especially a squishy "compassionate conservative) means we can't really do the two options I mentioned, ignoring the reality that 99% of elected Republicans would be terrified of #1 and vomit at the suggestion of #2, defund was the best option available.

            This situation is pretty out of control, not this particular one the whole theme. Our justice system is totally broken. The process is the punishment in most cases. If you get arrested you will be lucky to see a judge within a month for anything but setting a date to talk about scheduling a trial. The system is setup to demand an unreasonable bond (a Constitutional violation) so the bailbond system can take a slice, you pay 10% up front to them and will never see it again win or lose. Now you need a lawyer, unless you want to risk your life on a public defender you better be able to pay up sucker. Next you decide whether you pay that lawyer to negotiate a plea deal or gear up for a multi-year battle. If the charge was a non-violent white collar crime you MIGHT actually be able to work while all this goes on, forget it if it is a violent crime in most of the careers that pay enough for a lawyer, so there goes the kid's college fund and your retirement. And if you somehow "win" in the end, you get precisely zero of any of that back. The process WAS the punishment.

            If you are poor it is a little different. Your family usually pools their money to pay the bond company's fees, again that money is just gone, never to be seen again. You will have a public defender so will almost certainly plea out, and unless you are a career criminal (and they should actually be punished) you get probation. Look into how much THAT costs sometime. Whether you were guilty or innocent doesn't matter, your best option is always to take the plea. pay the fees and move on. Again, the process was the punishment.

            The whole system needs an enema. In 90% of arrests there is no good reason we couldn't get to a final verdict in sixty days max. Under no circumstance should it take more than six months to get through the initial trial and appeals another six.

      • (Score: 3, Interesting) by schad on Thursday December 29 2016, @04:44PM

        by schad (2398) on Thursday December 29 2016, @04:44PM (#447123)

        all these fees are the fault of the republicans and stupid middle america who was conned into thinking that 'taxes are always bad, never allow an increase!'.

        We give the government money in order to provide us with certain essential services. But the government spends it foolishly. The extra money from the property tax increase? It goes to a shiny new computer lab that nobody ever uses. Meanwhile, our students still sit 2 per desk in an "expansion classroom" (aka a shipping container sitting in the parking lot) and share 1970s-era textbooks. And next year, another tax increase is on the ballot to "support our failing schools." This time it gets spent on a new field for the high school football team, leaving open the door for more tax increases in the future. And on and on and on.

        You can only suffer through this for so long before you start to view all tax increases as just an opportunity for the government to increase its power while delivering absolutely zero return.

        Of course, everyone in the world thinks that his government is wasteful and inefficient. We all wish that the government would focus on the services that we consider essential instead of the ones that those other guys do. But I do feel that we Americans, to a greater extent than any other developed country, get an appallingly poor return on our tax dollars. And so it's not unreasonable to reflexively oppose all tax increases. I mean, it may well be the wrong response, but... look at how shitty the government is at practically everything it does. Can you really blame anyone for thinking that the only solution is to throw it all out and start over?

        • (Score: 2) by Phoenix666 on Friday December 30 2016, @12:37AM

          by Phoenix666 (552) on Friday December 30 2016, @12:37AM (#447231) Journal

          Can you really blame anyone for thinking that the only solution is to throw it all out and start over?

          I don't. I agree. We've made a lot of discoveries and our technology has advanced a whole bunch since the last time we started over. We can at least get something that works much better than this creaking, decrepit cesspit of corruption and dynamic atrophy.

          --
          Washington DC delenda est.
        • (Score: 4, Insightful) by Thexalon on Friday December 30 2016, @12:52AM

          by Thexalon (636) on Friday December 30 2016, @12:52AM (#447235)

          The problem I'm seeing here is accepting with incomplete evidence the idea that government always spends money more foolishly than the private sector does. Especially when there are cases where the government has been noticeably more efficient than their private sector counterparts, like:
          - The US Postal Service is substantially more cost-effective at moving things from one place to another than FedEx or UPS.
          - Medicare and Medicaid get more health care work done per dollar of spending than any of the private insurers in the US. The Veteran's Administration does even better than Medicare and Medicaid. And government health care systems like Canada's NHS also get more bang for their buck than the US private insurers do.
          - Municipal water in most cities is both safer to drink and better tasting than bottled water, especially bottled water that doesn't come from municipal water supplies.

          The reason everyone thinks "Government always sucks" is that you only hear about the bad experiences. For example, hardly anyone fires off a blog post of "Mr Jones at the USDA is a really reasonable, dedicated and conscientious public servant doing his best to balance the goals of farmers, farmers' neighbors, food consumers, and the long-term environmental effects of their activities." And that sort of thing almost never finds its way into the news. What that means is that when the government is working properly, you probably don't even notice it or know who's responsible.

          --
          The only thing that stops a bad guy with a compiler is a good guy with a compiler.
        • (Score: 2) by sjames on Friday December 30 2016, @05:26AM

          by sjames (2882) on Friday December 30 2016, @05:26AM (#447303) Journal

          But it never gets thrown out, it just gets starved enough that it can't afford to actually do anything but pay people to sit idle at their desks.

      • (Score: 2) by JNCF on Thursday December 29 2016, @06:53PM

        by JNCF (4317) on Thursday December 29 2016, @06:53PM (#447167) Journal

        I grew up with the half-lie that taxes were a civic duty to help keep the roads and bridges in good condition, and I believed it for a while. Once you google America's military budget, the ugly truth seems rather blatant. Every time I submit to taxes I hate myself for not refusing to pay my "fair share" of the bombs that my government drops on foreign countries. Despite being done under threat of force, this cowardice is one of the things I hate myself most for. It's not that I don't have other failings as a human being, it's that this one seems really major to me. Like, Godwin-invoking levels of major. I feel slightly less horrible about this government's domestic policies, but it's really just a matter of scale. They're still murdering innocents with my money. Long-term I hope to leave this country, but even then I'll be forced to either keep paying taxes to give up my ability to visit people I know and love who will still be living in the States. Realistically, I'll probably be a tax-paying citizen for at least a couple decades. So without getting all high-and-mighty (I, too, am guilty of paying taxes) I would love to see this beast starved of every penny it can be. If they have to work for that funding, good. If they have to make it even more obvious that they are simply the most powerful gang in town and that this is the only basis on which they get to demand tribute from common citizens, good. I have no interest in discussing collective bridge-building efforts until they stop murdering innocent children with my money (SPOILER: I like localized/decentralized bride-building schemes anyway, but wouldn't mind paying taxes in that context at all).

      • (Score: 2) by DeathMonkey on Thursday December 29 2016, @07:03PM

        by DeathMonkey (1380) on Thursday December 29 2016, @07:03PM (#447173) Journal

        but no. the repuglicans keep forcing this 'dont pay any more taxes!' bullshit and this is what we are left with. roads that can't be fixed, sewers that fall apart, bridges that crumble and are unsafe, power grid and network grid that need serious upgrading, etc etc. but lets not pay more taxes! no no no. gotta keep trickle-down-jesus happy.
         
        Don't worry, a Republican will be president soon. We'll be able to pay for all that stuff because, magically, budget deficits won't matter anymore.

  • (Score: 5, Interesting) by maxwell demon on Thursday December 29 2016, @11:44AM

    by maxwell demon (1608) on Thursday December 29 2016, @11:44AM (#447040) Journal

    If you are arrested but the charges are dismissed, you've obviously been arrested without sufficient cause, therefore you should get compensation for it.

    --
    The Tao of math: The numbers you can count are not the real numbers.
    • (Score: 2) by Spamalope on Thursday December 29 2016, @04:11PM

      by Spamalope (5233) on Thursday December 29 2016, @04:11PM (#447107) Homepage

      Then all $uspects are guilty, otherwise they wouldn't be $uspects. Today, people who have a civil damages case against a government body are charged with frivolous but expensive to defends crimes which are dismissed only if the person signs a contract agreeing not to seek the damages they're owed. Your idea though morally right would encourage more abuses.
       
      A justice system run by the corrupt or amoral can't be fixed with rules on paper.

  • (Score: 3, Insightful) by isostatic on Thursday December 29 2016, @12:06PM

    by isostatic (365) on Thursday December 29 2016, @12:06PM (#447047) Journal

    These stories are supposed to come out on April 1st, not other days.

    Or is 2016 so surreal that every day is April fools?

  • (Score: 5, Insightful) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday December 29 2016, @12:20PM

    by Anonymous Coward on Thursday December 29 2016, @12:20PM (#447052)

    US justice system is fucked up. Where people end up paying fees because they spend time in jail? It's sure hell of a way of running a slave system. Yes, slaves to the prisons.

    1. go to jail
    2. get charged daily board for your "accommodations and food"
    3. get out of jail, want to get a job but can't get anything beyond menial labour because #1
    4. get hit with a bill #2 and threats they will send you to jail if not paid
    5. so now, live under a bridge with dead-end job, or go to jail where you at least are warm and have food on the table and don't have to worry of getting canned?

    The bottom line is in the US #1 guarantees you are fucked. And if you are poor, you probably can't climb out of that hole even if you want to.

    http://money.cnn.com/2015/09/18/news/economy/prison-fees-inmates-debt/ [cnn.com]
    http://www.motherjones.com/politics/2015/02/jails-prison-bail-racial-disparity [motherjones.com]

    Then again, UK is as hell wants to catch up with this : http://www.rense.com/general50/25yt.htm [rense.com]

    • (Score: 4, Informative) by TheReaperD on Thursday December 29 2016, @12:30PM

      by TheReaperD (5556) on Thursday December 29 2016, @12:30PM (#447054)

      Welcome to for-profit prison corporations and the lobbyists that represent them.

      --
      Ad eundum quo nemo ante iit
      • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday December 29 2016, @05:18PM

        by Anonymous Coward on Thursday December 29 2016, @05:18PM (#447137)

        > Welcome to for-profit prison corporations and the lobbyists that represent them.

        The truth is that for-profit prisons have very little to do with this problem. The prisons have contracts with the state, they get paid no matter what.

        As the submitted story shows, fees aren't just being levied for imprisonment. They are being levied at all levels of the justice system. Booking fees, court fees, parole fees, etc. Its the result of indiscriminate tax cuts. A certain punitive mindset has infected many local governments with the idea that "criminals" should be made to pay for the operation of the justice system. They've decided that they can get blood from a stone and its working out exactly as well as you would expect.. Its also a fundamental misunderstanding of the purpose of the justice system - its value is in serving society by keeping criminality in check. Society needs to pay for that service because its society at large that benefits from its operation. There is no such thing as a free lunch.

    • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday December 29 2016, @12:54PM

      by Anonymous Coward on Thursday December 29 2016, @12:54PM (#447057)

      Is the Great Recession hindering the Pax Americana?

      As seen on TV, incarceration fees were mentioned in passing on Andromeda, which aired a decade ago. In context, the fees were implied to be a symptom of the collapse of civilization in the form of the Systems Commonwealth.

      "Yes, taxes. That's the problem. Not enough taxes, too many criminals. What about you? Can you cover his incarceration fee?"

      "I think I'd rather be a hostage."

      "Oh, I get it. No incarceration fee from you and no mental health evaluation fee from you. Okay, then. We'll just skip right to the fine for filling a false police report."

    • (Score: 5, Informative) by AthanasiusKircher on Thursday December 29 2016, @05:10PM

      by AthanasiusKircher (5291) on Thursday December 29 2016, @05:10PM (#447133) Journal

      US justice system is fucked up. Where people end up paying fees because they spend time in jail? It's sure hell of a way of running a slave system.

      Yeah, we're about 2 steps away from returning to a debtors prison [wikipedia.org] system. We did away with such things over a century ago, because they never really made much sense -- you put someone in prison because they owe too much debt, but while they're in prison they can't make money to pay off the debt, so they just rot in prison for years or even life (if they are unable to produce enough work in prison to even keep up with the demands of paying for their own care).

      By the way, you don't even need to start with your step #1 "go to jail" to end up in something like this spiral. Random fines and fees from the government can easily balloon to the point that minimum wage folks have no hope of paying them in a reasonable amount of time, leading to even more fees, perhaps a license suspension (which often causes poor people to lose their jobs when they can't get to work), and eventually a jail sentence for nonpayment in many locales (which will likely cause someone to lose a job if they haven't already). John Oliver had a segment [youtube.com] on this a while back.

      The craziest story in that segment probably involves the guy who stole a $2 can of beer, ended up being given a fine as punishment, but didn't have enough money to pay the fine (a couple hundred dollars). So after accruing fees, he was put under the care of "private probation" business that forced him to wear an ankle bracelet and charged him $350/month for the bracelet. Since he couldn't keep up paying the fees for his tracking bracelet, the probation business recommended to the government that he be put in jail for nonpayment. He spent a total of something like 70 days in prison as a result of this whole fiasco, costing taxpayers about $3500... all because he took a $2 beer and couldn't pay a fine upfront.

      This kind of crap happens anywhere where you put incentives on making money from fines and government fees.

  • (Score: 3, Informative) by t-3 on Thursday December 29 2016, @01:05PM

    by t-3 (4907) on Thursday December 29 2016, @01:05PM (#447058)

    WTF?! What happened to at least paying lip service to the constitution?

    • (Score: 2, Insightful) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday December 29 2016, @01:11PM

      by Anonymous Coward on Thursday December 29 2016, @01:11PM (#447060)

      Budget cuts.

    • (Score: 3, Informative) by digitalaudiorock on Thursday December 29 2016, @02:12PM

      by digitalaudiorock (688) on Thursday December 29 2016, @02:12PM (#447078) Journal

      Why should anyone be surprised when some states charge you for your public defender [npr.org], So much for that "If you cannot afford an attorney, one will be appointed for you" thing in the Miranda "rights" I guess.

    • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday December 29 2016, @02:54PM

      by Anonymous Coward on Thursday December 29 2016, @02:54PM (#447085)

      What constitution? The US is gone dude.

    • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday December 29 2016, @06:50PM

      by Anonymous Coward on Thursday December 29 2016, @06:50PM (#447165)

      WTF?! What happened to at least paying lip service to the constitution?

      That's an extra fee ... plus making the clerk look up the Constitution is an extra fee ... and adding up the extra fees on to your bill is a calculator fee ... wow, you can't afford a lawyer now.

  • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday December 29 2016, @01:51PM

    by Anonymous Coward on Thursday December 29 2016, @01:51PM (#447070)

    Noting that I declined the service?

    • (Score: 1, Funny) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday December 29 2016, @01:53PM

      by Anonymous Coward on Thursday December 29 2016, @01:53PM (#447071)

      Stop resisting!

  • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday December 29 2016, @02:09PM

    by Anonymous Coward on Thursday December 29 2016, @02:09PM (#447075)

    Jus like it aint torture when the US military does it...

  • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday December 29 2016, @03:19PM

    by Anonymous Coward on Thursday December 29 2016, @03:19PM (#447091)

    We need more pirates - there's just not enough "Rrrrrr" to go around. I miss the "R" that used to be in "America, land of the fee."

    • (Score: 2) by mhajicek on Thursday December 29 2016, @04:51PM

      by mhajicek (51) on Thursday December 29 2016, @04:51PM (#447126)

      Home of the blave?

      --
      The spacelike surfaces of time foliations can have a cusp at the surface of discontinuity. - P. Hajicek
      • (Score: 3, Insightful) by isostatic on Thursday December 29 2016, @05:02PM

        by isostatic (365) on Thursday December 29 2016, @05:02PM (#447131) Journal

        Well home of the brave went once everyone started hiding under the bed from the "terrorists". It became even more hilarious when it was "ISIS" that was the bogeyman.

        At least in the Cold War there was a legitimate fear of nuclear annihilation.

  • (Score: 4, Insightful) by tangomargarine on Thursday December 29 2016, @03:22PM

    by tangomargarine (667) on Thursday December 29 2016, @03:22PM (#447093)

    He did get a debit card for the remaining $21. But there was no practical way to extract his cash without paying some kind of fee. Among them: $1.50 a week for “maintenance” of the unwanted card, starting after 36 hours; $2.75 for using an A.T.M. to withdraw money; $3 for transferring the balance to a bank account; and $1.50 for checking the balance.

    In its appeals court brief, the county said the debit cards were provided “for the convenience of the inmates,” who might find it hard to cash a check.

    [...]

    Mr. Carvin said the county’s motives were not rooted in solicitude for the people it had arrested. “Revenue-starved local governments are increasingly turning toward fees like Ramsey County’s in order to bridge their budgetary gaps,” he wrote in a Supreme Court brief. “But the unilateral decision of a single police officer cannot possibly justify summarily confiscating money.”

    Why the fuck are they taking all his cash to begin with? Just put it in a box then give him his original bills back when he's released. Instead apparently the money gets sucked into the banking system as soon as they book him? Which if I'm reading this right, is because they assume he's going to be found guilty. Marvelous.

    --
    "Is that really true?" "I just spent the last hour telling you to think for yourself! Didn't you hear anything I said?"
    • (Score: 5, Funny) by jmorris on Thursday December 29 2016, @05:40PM

      by jmorris (4844) on Thursday December 29 2016, @05:40PM (#447145)

      They put the cash into a bank because if they left all those wallets intact they know their corrupt employees would pilfer the money while it was stored and the government would have to replace it since the booking records show it was there at the time of arrest. Remember, Democrat machines aren't just corrupt at the top, everybody gets their job because of who they know instead of ability or honesty and you can't fire one, ever.

      • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday December 29 2016, @06:42PM

        by Anonymous Coward on Thursday December 29 2016, @06:42PM (#447159)

        Harharhar you partisan hack. They're all corrupt and greedy, that's the real NWO.

        • (Score: 2, Insightful) by jmorris on Thursday December 29 2016, @07:29PM

          by jmorris (4844) on Thursday December 29 2016, @07:29PM (#447175)

          Pray tell us where a Republican machine still runs an American city. Ojce upon a time they existed, no more.

          • (Score: 2) by edIII on Thursday December 29 2016, @08:43PM

            by edIII (791) on Thursday December 29 2016, @08:43PM (#447186)

            Oh shut the fuck up you partisan hack!

            This has nothing to do with trusting cops with physical bills. Put it in a bank you moron? What fucking bank? Are they complying with the Patriot Act? Is it FDIC regulated?

            Leave their PROPERTY in a fucking locked cage. The real issue here is that they are inspecting your debit cards in your wallet and then STEALING the fucking money. There was no valid transaction, no trial, no judge, no anything.

            They UNILATERALLY stole money direct from a citizen. Shut the fuck up with your bullshit Repugnican crap! Like the police in the past under Republican control was so much better? I'm sure.

            What a fucking moron you are.

            --
            Technically, lunchtime is at any moment. It's just a wave function.
            • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Friday December 30 2016, @03:47AM

              by Anonymous Coward on Friday December 30 2016, @03:47AM (#447266)

              It was cash in his wallet, they took the cash, then when returning his belongings (after subtracting the 25 dollar fee from his available funds) returned the remaining balance not as the cash from his wallet, but as a debit card which charged fees in order to regain the cash he had previously had in his pocket.

              Mull on that a moment and think if that is truly the sort of society you wish to live in.

  • (Score: 2, Touché) by kurenai.tsubasa on Thursday December 29 2016, @03:36PM

    by kurenai.tsubasa (5227) on Thursday December 29 2016, @03:36PM (#447097) Journal

    Where's our authoritarians? *sigh*, I guess they're out sick today so I'll try my best.

    If they weren't up to no good in first place, they wouldn't have been arrested! Can't pay the fine, don't do the crime!

    Don't these hooligans realize how much valuable time they cost our public servants? Of course they should have to pay us taxpayers back. It's not like they're paying any taxes anyway! We wouldn't need a criminal justice system without these hooligans. I say they should be fined $50, no $100! If they can't pay, throw 'em in the slammer and make 'em work it off. Lazy bums might learn some worth ethic that way instead of getting high all day!

    See, this is what happens when you legalize cannabis! Mass hysteria! Hooligans getting all up on my lawn! Those self-entitled millennials need to learn TANSTAAFL!

    (Should I have gone for “snowflakes” there instead of “millennials?”)

    • (Score: 2) by Azuma Hazuki on Thursday December 29 2016, @05:08PM

      by Azuma Hazuki (5086) on Thursday December 29 2016, @05:08PM (#447132) Journal

      With any luck, 2016 took them. And they're now flailing in the flames of their own evils in Hell, and dreading their upcoming reincarnations as poor, disabled black girls in the Sahel in the mid 2020s.

      --
      I am "that girl" your mother warned you about...
  • (Score: 2, Interesting) by OrugTor on Thursday December 29 2016, @04:32PM

    by OrugTor (5147) Subscriber Badge on Thursday December 29 2016, @04:32PM (#447116)

    Bet they have them. And civil forfeiture quotas. Speeding fines are so passe. But still lucrative.

  • (Score: 1, Interesting) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday December 29 2016, @04:59PM

    by Anonymous Coward on Thursday December 29 2016, @04:59PM (#447129)

    Sadly, the movie Brazil is turning into reality more and more.

    "That is your receipt for your husband... and this is my receipt for your receipt."

    "Mistakes? We don't make mistakes."

    "Don't fight it son. Confess quickly! If you hold out too long you could jeopardize your credit rating."

    "I understand this concern on behalf of the tax payers. People want value for money. That's why we always insist on the principle of Information Retrieval charges. It's absolutely right and fair that those found guilty should pay for their periods of detention and for the Information Retrieval Procedures used in their interrogation."

  • (Score: 1) by messymerry on Thursday December 29 2016, @06:21PM

    by messymerry (6369) on Thursday December 29 2016, @06:21PM (#447153)
    They got the punctuation wrong. It should be the "criminal" justice system. I can sum justice in the alleged "United" States in five words: Eric Holder and Loretta Lynch. 'nuff said, ;-D
    --
    Only fools equate a PhD with a Swiss Army Knife...
  • (Score: 2, Interesting) by Weasley on Thursday December 29 2016, @06:54PM

    by Weasley (6421) on Thursday December 29 2016, @06:54PM (#447168)

    My taxes are supposed to pay for this stuff (literally, I'm a Coloradan). The police should not get a single penny from booking people, writing tickets, seizing property, or imprisoning people. What is wrong with this country? We all know corruption exists in government, but when did it start becoming so transparent? Or was it always this way?

    • (Score: 2) by SecurityGuy on Thursday December 29 2016, @08:46PM

      by SecurityGuy (1453) on Thursday December 29 2016, @08:46PM (#447187)

      Couldn't agree more. I pay taxes for the bad guys to get arrested. There's no need at all to charge people money for arresting them.

  • (Score: 1, Interesting) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday December 29 2016, @07:01PM

    by Anonymous Coward on Thursday December 29 2016, @07:01PM (#447172)

    Ya, that will hold up after the first suit. ACLU will be all over this one.

    Idiots.

    • (Score: 2, Informative) by Anonymous Coward on Friday December 30 2016, @04:01AM

      by Anonymous Coward on Friday December 30 2016, @04:01AM (#447269)

      I had a friend who got in a motorcycle accident while he was a novice, broke his collarbone in the crash.

      Anyway, while waiting for the tow truck to come pick up him and his bike, a cop runs across him and asks if he needs any help. Fast forward to a month later and he's still out of work with his arm in a sling, and what should come in the mail? A ticket from the officer in question citing him for speeding (unsigned by him, the 'guilty' party since it wasn't written at the 'scene of the crime'.) Being an up and up guy he shows up at court on the appointed day. The clerk tells him that the ticket was invalid since he hadn't signed it, and he SHOULD have just ignored it (yeah, like any law abiding citizen/person who has run afoul of the system is going to do that and risk defaulting!) But since he HADN'T ignored it and had chosen to come in, he needed to pay a 10 dollar processing fee in order to get the ticket voided. He didn't clearly tell me if he could have gone before the judge or not, but the whole situation sounded like a mess and fit in with my own experiences with traffic violations. I have put quite a bit of effort in the years since to avoid being places law enforcement frequents or is known to harass people as a result, and will never be seen out in the streets protesting because my own experiences have shown the legal system is not in your favor even when innocent, and the fees alone will crush anyone making less than the top 20-30 percent, or having been lucky enough to have a few years worth of savings to cover such expenses (at the risk of losing all that hard fought financial security!)

      The majority of people I know couldn't even do that.

    • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Friday December 30 2016, @08:27AM

      by Anonymous Coward on Friday December 30 2016, @08:27AM (#447344)
      Why does the ACLU have to get involved? Where are all those good cops people keep telling me about?
  • (Score: 2) by krishnoid on Thursday December 29 2016, @09:47PM

    by krishnoid (1156) on Thursday December 29 2016, @09:47PM (#447201)

    Supreme Court: We find the defendant guilty of withholding property from the plaintiff.
    Plaintiff: Ha Haaa!

  • (Score: 2) by PinkyGigglebrain on Friday December 30 2016, @08:12AM

    by PinkyGigglebrain (4458) on Friday December 30 2016, @08:12AM (#447342)

    criminal justice system.

    The legal system in the USA hasn't been about "justice" in decades. Its been about profit for corporations and lobbyists, and helping or starting the careers of politicians.

    --
    "Beware those who would deny you Knowledge, For in their hearts they dream themselves your Master."