Supreme Court Justice Criticizes How Authorities Extort Payments From Poor Defendants
New Jersey has been having a difficult time with some bad publicity lately involving their justice system.
Quite often defendants will be faced with hefty fines, and a federal judge has found that the pressure that's then placed on the friends or family of those defendants; to pay fines, effectively amounts to extortion.
And legal advocates have argued against such practices, insisting that they violate the Constitution by depriving individuals of their right to due process. They also suggest that the practices enable authorities to discriminate based on income.
Aside from the issue of paying fines, it was also uncovered that a NJ judge had falsified thousands of court records so that fines could be redirected; allegedly allowing municipalities to get an increased amount of funds at the expense of the county.
Last year, a committee was established to look into the controversy surrounding the fees and fines at the municipal court level and that report is expected to be released soon.
According to one Chief Justice with the New Jersey Supreme Court, Stuart Rabner, it's going to detail some disturbing practices.
Poor defendants shouldn't be jailed because they cannot pay certain court fees, he insists.
In his recently sent memo, Justice Rabner took to remind NJ judges that there is U.S. Supreme Court precedent for defendants to be afforded the right to a hearing, regardless if they can afford to pay any fees or fines that have been imposed.
Pics:
Pixabay
Sources:
https://www.insidernj.com/press-release/municipal-court-extorted-payment-poor-defendants-federal-court-rules/
http://www.nj.com/politics/index.ssf/2018/04/njs_top_justice_warns_judges_amid_disturbing_court.html
http://nj1015.com/mans-jailing-for-traffic-fine-spurs-look-at-court-practices/
This news is incredible dear friend @doitvoluntarily, as far as the corruption, there are no agencies that escape these issues, that happens in my country Argentina accept it, apparently it is a disease of the world.
Thank you very much dear friend, for keeping us informed
I wish you a great day
Truth comes out. The truth always comes out. If not today, if not tomorrow, but someday, it all comes out. There is a greater Authority these people are held to because of their positions in life. They will be held accountable one day for the injustices they promoted -- if not by the public and by technology, then by God Himself one day.
It's easy to forget that when the money just keeps rolling in.
This story would drive me nuts if it weren't for the spotlight on the Supreme court calling bullshit on this.
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