Resource: Fant et al. v. City of Ferguson

The City of Ferguson jails people when they cannot afford to pay their traffic debt and cash bonds for other minor offenses. No inquiry is made into the person’s ability to pay, no alternatives to payment are offered to the individuals, and no counsel is provided. Jail officers arbitrarily set amount for relatives to pay in order for the individuals to be released. According to the complaint, “In 2014 the City of Ferguson issued an average of more than 3.6 arrest warrants per household and almost 2.2 arrest warrants for every adult, most in cases involving unpaid debt for tickets.”