Citizens Fighting Back Against Speed Traps and Tickets

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Law enforcement exists to protect and serve, not tax and spend. But things are different in the city of Doraville, Georgia, a 10,000 person suburb of Atlanta that has become notorious for its revenue-generating speed traps and housing code enforcement cases.

Each year, Doraville budgets between 17 and 30 percent of its overall expected revenue to come from fines and fees issued by its police officers and code inspectors. A 2015 Doraville newsletter bragged that “averaging nearly 15,000 cases and bringing in over $3 million annually,” Doraville’s court system “contributes heavily to the city’s bottom line.”

By putting fine revenue into its annual budget, Doraville creates a perverse incentive for police, prosecutors, and even its municipal court to police for profit, rather than seek justice and protect the health and safety of the city.

Drivers and homeowners know this perversion first hand. A report in a local newspaper found that Doraville issues tickets totaling more than $800 per resident annually, writing upwards of 40 tickets per day. Some residents have been threatened with probation or even jail time for simple code violations.

The Supreme Court has made it clear that it is unconstitutional for a justice system to be influenced by perverse incentives to raise municipal revenue. That’s why two Doraville homeowners and two Doraville drivers have partnered with the Institute for Justice to shut down Doraville’s unconstitutional practice of policing for profit.

http://www.ij.org/case/doraville-ticketing/
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