Muahahaha! Ferguson judge withdraws all arrest warrants before 2015! "BLM" FTW?

You read the headline correctly. A Ferguson judge has withdrawn all arrest warrants issued before 2015!

Ferguson judge withdraws all arrest warrants before 2015

This is a huge new development, though it's not as good as it seems. According to the article, "all defendants will be given new court dates with alternative penalties like payment plans or community service". There are also several new changes coming, such as "minor traffic offenders won't be arrested anymore, but instead will be released on their own recognizance and given another court date". It still sucks but it's better than how it was.

For a short recap on why this is even necessary:

1. Ferguson is a city of roughly 21,000 people. Around 67% of its citizens are African Americans.

2. The Ferguson municipal government is mostly run by white people (gasp!).

3. The Ferguson municipal government gets about 15-16% of its funding by collecting fines, fees, and penalties.

4. Nearly all of the revenue from these fines, fees, and penalties comes from its African American citizens.

5. Through a system of institutionalized racism, Ferguson had at least 16,000 outstanding arrest warrants before this judge's decision. These frivolous warrants were for everything ranging from loud music, having an overgrown yard, unregistered cars parked in driveways, to jaywalking and other petty offenses, etc. In 2013 alone, it issued more than 32,000 arrest warrants (in a city of 21,000 people).

6. The Department of Justice released a blistering report that showed rampant institutionalized racism against the African American community members. This included racist internal emails, unfairly giving reprieves to white suspects but not black suspects, and policies which intentionally targeted the city's African American citizens. Another example is "between 2012 and 2014, black drivers were twice as likely as white drivers to be searched during traffic stops, but 26% less likely to be found in possession of contraband."

7. The proof of institutionalized racism was so overwhelming that all of the outstanding arrest warrants issued before this year were withdrawn. It's basically trying to hit a reset button so the cases can be tried in a somewhat fair manner.

The original article I posted is actually a follow up this previous article CNN had put out.
CNNMoney Investigates Ferguson One year later: Ferguson is still pumping out arrest warrants

And here's a better article about the situation leading up to this.
In Ferguson, Court Fines And Fees Fuel Anger

a reply to: enlightenedservant

Outstanding warrants of that type generally arise from either failure to appear in court or failure to pay a mandated fine, which can be appealed in court. What was the actual percentage of tickets/warrants issued against African Americans? Being that they're 67% of the population, it's kind of a given that they'd have at least 67% of the charges.

a reply to: enlightenedservant

Go figure the newly appointed judge in this case (June) is a black man.

a reply to: pfishy

I've seen numbers from 80% to in the 90s. It might depend, based on the year & category. I was trying to find out what percentage of revenue was coming from which demographic, but I couldn't find that either.

Though to be fair, warrants shouldn't be lined up with a district's racial makeup but with the frequency of crimes. And the fact that their system was proven to target the African American community while giving reprieves for the white citizens is quite damning.

Also, remember, this is the district that was changing court dates without informing the citizens. And closing the doors to the courtrooms early, so citizens would be locked out & still seen as missing their court dates. The corruption is/was mind boggling.

originally posted by: enlightenedservant
a reply to: pfishy

I've seen numbers from 80% to in the 90s. It might depend, based on the year & category. I was trying to find out what percentage of revenue was coming from which demographic, but I couldn't find that either.

Though to be fair, warrants shouldn't be lined up with a district's racial makeup but with the frequency of crimes. And the fact that their system was proven to target the African American community while giving reprieves for the white citizens is quite damning.

Also, remember, this is the district that was changing court dates without informing the citizens. And closing the doors to the courtrooms early, so citizens would be locked out & still seen as missing their court dates. The corruption is/was mind boggling.

It doesn't matter what race you are, if a neighborhood or city sector commits more crimes than another then the police will patrol it more. It is all data and all numbers, not a damn coloring book.

In my city no less than a month ago a white woman police officer was called by a paroll officer that the parollee wouldn't come to the door, once the cops were there he opened fire on her and killed the officer with a sei automatic handgun. The shooter was then killed by her backup. Know who knows about this? Nooone outside my city since the officer was a white woman and the murderer was a black male. BLM god get over yourself. There were no protests for the black guy, but there were no protests for an innocent police officer reporting to the call. BLM is a racist self indoctrination of interracial hate.

originally posted by: iDope
a reply to: enlightenedservant

Go figure the newly appointed judge in this case (June) is a black man.

So you ignore the constant findings that the non-black people were deliberately targeting the black people, but complain about the black person giving the unfairly targeted citizens a fair chance? Note, all of the arrest warrants were withdrawn, not just the arrest warrants for the black citizens.

originally posted by: iDope

originally posted by: enlightenedservant
a reply to: pfishy

I've seen numbers from 80% to in the 90s. It might depend, based on the year & category. I was trying to find out what percentage of revenue was coming from which demographic, but I couldn't find that either.

Though to be fair, warrants shouldn't be lined up with a district's racial makeup but with the frequency of crimes. And the fact that their system was proven to target the African American community while giving reprieves for the white citizens is quite damning.

Also, remember, this is the district that was changing court dates without informing the citizens. And closing the doors to the courtrooms early, so citizens would be locked out & still seen as missing their court dates. The corruption is/was mind boggling.

It doesn't matter what race you are, if a neighborhood or city sector commits more crimes than another then the police will patrol it more. It is all data and all numbers, not a damn coloring book.

Another example is "between 2012 and 2014, black drivers were twice as likely as white drivers to be searched during traffic stops, but 26% less likely to be found in possession of contraband."

Going by that logic, the white citizens would've been targeted more.

originally posted by: enlightenedservant

originally posted by: iDope
a reply to: enlightenedservant

Go figure the newly appointed judge in this case (June) is a black man.

So you ignore the constant findings that the non-black people were deliberately targeting the black people, but complain about the black person giving the unfairly targeted citizens a fair chance? Note, all of the arrest warrants were withdrawn, not just the arrest warrants for the black citizens.

How many Ferguson looters were caught and charged? I saw hundreds of crimes on video, and yet what? They were all blacks comitting crimes, so would you like all of them to be put in jail? Or is that racist because they are all black?

a reply to: enlightenedservant

How early were they closing their doors. I ask, because every citation I have received required me to be in whichever courthouse was relevant by 9am. If you had not checked in by 10am, they considered you absent. But it was clearly printed on the citation that you were required to be there for 9. So not showing up on time is no excuse that I can see.

a reply to: pfishy

And that's in several states.

originally posted by: enlightenedservant

originally posted by: iDope

originally posted by: enlightenedservant
a reply to: pfishy

I've seen numbers from 80% to in the 90s. It might depend, based on the year & category. I was trying to find out what percentage of revenue was coming from which demographic, but I couldn't find that either.

Though to be fair, warrants shouldn't be lined up with a district's racial makeup but with the frequency of crimes. And the fact that their system was proven to target the African American community while giving reprieves for the white citizens is quite damning.

The police will search you car if they have reason to. They wouldn't search anyones car without reason. So likley after they pulled over a person, they took their license and registration and searched them through the system. If they had any outstanding charges, or previous charges for drugs or weapons or stolen goods, then they will search your car, simple as that. By race blacks overwhelm all others in those categories, maybe because they are searched too often, but then they are caught too often as well. All numbers and data.

Also, remember, this is the district that was changing court dates without informing the citizens. And closing the doors to the courtrooms early, so citizens would be locked out & still seen as missing their court dates. The corruption is/was mind boggling.

It doesn't matter what race you are, if a neighborhood or city sector commits more crimes than another then the police will patrol it more. It is all data and all numbers, not a damn coloring book.

Another example is "between 2012 and 2014, black drivers were twice as likely as white drivers to be searched during traffic stops, but 26% less likely to be found in possession of contraband."

Going by that logic, the white citizens would've been targeted more.

a reply to: iDope

That logic was sadly only in hindsight, after DOJ analysis of citation records.

So let me get this straight, now in Ferguson you can speed through a school zone, speed through a construction zone, run red lights, drive carelessly, (and a multitude of other things) and you will receive a citation.

However, when you don't pay the citation they will NOT issue a bench warrant for you, and instead just another court date.

What happens when the offender doesn't show up to the second court date?

a reply to: TorqueyThePig

Infinite court date feedback loop, apparently.

originally posted by: pfishy
a reply to: enlightenedservant

How early were they closing their doors. I ask, because every citation I have received required me to be in whichever courthouse was relevant by 9am. If you had not checked in by 10am, they considered you absent. But it was clearly printed on the citation that you were required to be there for 9. So not showing up on time is no excuse that I can see.

Sorry, just logged back in. This report quotes a Ferguson court employee who says they routinely started hearing the cases 30 minutes before the appointed time and put locks on the doors 5 minutes after 9am. And anyone who arrived after that got an extra $120-$130 fine added to their original fine.

How Many Ways Can the City of Ferguson Slap You With Court Fees? We Counted

That article goes into far more detail on the abuses in the system. Here are the 2 paragraphs that come directly after the info I just listed.

Or you may arrive to find yourself faced with an impossible choice: Skip your court date or leave your children unattended in the parking lot. Non-defendants, such as children, are permitted by law to accompany defendants in the courtroom, but a survey by the presiding judge of the St. Louis County Circuit Court found that 37 percent of local courts don't allow it.

Coming to court has its own pitfalls, but not the ones many people fear. It's a common misconception among Ferguson residents—especially those without attorneys—that if you show up without money to pay your fine, you'll go to jail. In fact, you can't be put behind bars for inability to pay a fine, but you can be sent to jail for failure to appear in court (and accrue a $125 fee). If you miss your court date, the court will likely issue a warrant for your arrest, which comes with a fee of its own:

originally posted by: TorqueyThePig
So let me get this straight, now in Ferguson you can speed through a school zone, speed through a construction zone, run red lights, drive carelessly, (and a multitude of other things) and you will receive a citation.

However, when you don't pay the citation they will NOT issue a bench warrant for you, and instead just another court date.

What happens when the offender doesn't show up to the second court date?

Wrong. The change is for minor traffic violations. You know, things like not wearing a seat belt, having a missing tail light, etc. Reckless driving isn't considered a minor traffic violation so that wouldn't change.

a reply to: enlightenedservant

A step in the right direction.

a reply to: Kali74

Definitely. Several of the cities surrounding Ferguson are facing similar, corrupt judicial situations. So hopefully the momentum won't stop now that there's been some progress.

a reply to: enlightenedservant

Yeah, that's just stupid of them.

a reply to: enlightenedservant

Though not being aware that you can show up and not be arrested for an inability to pay a fine is ignorance on the part of the offender. It could be resolved with a simple phone call to the courthouse or the clerk of court. And not showing up will get you a bench warrant anywhere. That particular part is not a Ferguson thing exclusively.