US States MUST STOP Using Police And Courts To Generate Revenue From Poor People

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Sam: Is it possible for there to be federal legislation that can prevent this? I mean on some level it feels like the constitution already does. it's just that like it you know on the ground it is much harder. you know so I for instance even in the context of new york state. you pass this law it feels like there's still local jurisdictions where this could go on the ad infinitum without unless there is like some type of I don't know some type of apparatus that is set up either you know governmental one or you know an NGO that is going around to jurisdictions to make sure this is not happening. because you know if I'm a single mother and you know I'm I'm having to struggle to make ends meet I probably am not aware of like well like like you know like you said with the Killman. As you should, you should take the lawyer. they'll waive the fee. I mean, I'm probably just caught up trying to do the right thing and have no idea whether I'm, you know, in the process of being uniquely targeted or not.

Messenger: so the place to fix the problem is both in the courts and in the legislative arena. and there is a bill in congress, Jerry Nadler from New York in the House and brian Schatz Senator from Hawaii have sponsored a bill that creates incentive funds for states that do what Senator Salazar is trying to do in New york. getting rid of the fines and fees. so it will create it is similar to the way congress creates incentives for creating highway safety laws will give you more money for your highways if you make them safer. This is a similar sort of idea. If you get rid of your fines and fees the federal government hopefully if this bill goes anywhere will provide some federal grants to help you replace that funding for a period of time while you figure out what to do. The other way that there is progress being made is through the courts. so in Missouri and Idaho for instance there were class-action lawsuits brought on behalf of defendants who were being put back in jail because they couldn't afford to pay their fines and fees. and in both Idaho and Missouri two conservative states where local circuit judges were putting poor people back in jail to pay to collect fines and fees. The supreme courts in both Idaho and Missouri ruled unanimously that you can't do this. This is wrong. This is against the law. it's unconstitutional. It's a debtors ' prison.