Beyond the burden of traffic fines for those who already can’t pay, Georgia’s criminalization of traffic violations allows each ticket to have a maximum penalty of 12 months in jail — or on probation. Multiple sentences in criminal courts often run concurrently, meaning the sentences are served all at once. But Judge Sneed stacked Davis’ sentences into “consecutive” 12-month probation terms, so her five 12-month sentences would be served back-to-back-to-back-to-back-to-back
On top of the fines Davis owed to the court, she owed a $44 monthly fee to Capital Probation — $35 for probation supervision and $9 earmarked for a state victims’ compensation fund. If paid every month for 60 months, it amounts to another $2,640 — more than doubling Davis’ total costs.
For Davis, the trap of “offender-funded” probation was laid: Keeping up with her supervision fees would make it almost impossible to pay off the underlying fines, which keep a defendant on probation. In fact, Davis’ case was marked as “early termination,” meaning she could end her probation as soon as she could pay her court fines. But as with traditional loan debt, paying off the principal — in this case, court fines — can be rendered impossible by accumulated interest — in this case, monthly supervision fees.
“I couldn’t catch up,” Davis tells me. Her car was repossessed, and to report to probation, Davis needed that car. And even if she could report, she didn’t have the money to pay for the probation supervision, so she stopped reporting. “You do the best you can, but sometimes it’s not enough,” she says.
Predatory municipal finance first reached popular consciousness in the aftermath of the police killing of Michael Brown, Jr. in Ferguson, Mo. in 2014. The groundbreaking Department of Justice report that followed described Ferguson’s “revenue generation” model of policing: “Officers appear to see some residents… less as constituents to be protected than as potential offenders and sources of revenue.” In 2013, municipal fines and fees accounted for 20.2% of Ferguson’s budget, a figure that astounded DOJ investigators. In 2018, the year Davis appeared in Clayton Municipal Court, 24.6% of Clayton’s general revenue came from court fines, according to the city’s annual audit.
This process is often referred to — by the system’s actors, legislators and critics alike — as “offender-funded” or “user-pay.” As Young advertised, probation companies offer cities what looks like a sweet deal. In exchange, these companies are permitted to charge fees to those on probation. Sometimes these fees include a host of expensive “services,” provided by the company, such as mandatory drug testing or “anti-theft” classes, ankle monitors, or even a “digital photo fee.
By 2018, Georgia’s probation rate per 100,000 adult residents was 3.5 times the national rate, eclipsing every other state in the country, according to the Prison Policy Initiative. More than half of those on probation in Georgia were on misdemeanor probation, according to the AJC, and 80% of those on misdemeanor probation were supervised by a private company.
Following the passage of HB310, Sentinel’s “chief business development officer,” Mark Contestabile, wrote to city officials that their Atlanta office had “lost tens of thousands of dollars monthly,” in an email among a cache of documents obtained by The Marshall Project in 2017. In a proposal made to Atlanta court officials in light of the new law, Sentinel pitched an amended public-private probation services model — also obtained by The Marshall Project—warning that “offender-funded” probation had “become politically and fiscally untenable.”
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Beyond Davis and Young, the private probation system has had wide-ranging effects in Clayton. A review of all of Clayton’s court cases in 2018 reveals that at least 115 defendants received long probation sentences of a year or more — just like Davis and Young — for similarly minor traffic charges or misdemeanors. One defendant received three years’ probation for minor traffic offenses, one of which was a $15 seatbelt violation.
In fact, Clayton’s share of revenue generated from fines has grown continuously in the years after the 2008 financial crisis while its share of tax revenue has decreased in tandem. According to Clayton city audits, the amount of court revenue increased by about 60% between 2011 and 2018, all while the city’s expenditures and population have remained relatively constant. In 2011, the city generated 15.3% of its revenue from fines; by 2018, that figure had ballooned to 24.6%.
The circumstances preceding Judge Sneed’s appointment as Clayton’s judge illuminate the city’s view of its court. Judge Sneed replaced longtime Judge David Smith. City officials had raised “concerns” about Smith in a January 2016 city council meeting, when, according to meeting minutes, “[Councilmember] Debbie [Chisholm] stated that she would like to discuss the City Judge’s appointment. She stated that everyone has had this discussion regarding the concerns.” At issue was Chisholm’s worry that “there are too many court cases that are being assigned a Public Defender. This process is creating more time and city resources, therefore costing the city more money.” Chisholm (who is no longer a city council member) succinctly encapsulated the city’s priorities: efficiency and the preservation of “city resources.” Later at the meeting, according to the minutes, city officials discussed the need for the court system to “speed up and take care of business.”
there is some depraved shit in that article :gui-better: :gui-better: :gui-better: