A City Court Punished An Arkansas Woman For 20 Years Over A Handful Of Bounced Checks

A City Court Punished An Arkansas Woman For 20 Years Over A Handful Of Bounced Checks

For the offense of not having enough money in her checking account, Tammy had to appear in a city court set up to deal with "hot check" cases.. American cities on average take in about 2% of their revenues in fines and fees.. A massive new legal survey from the Institute for Justice looks at how a broad range of state laws may allow, if not encourage, cities and towns to abuse fines and fees to raise revenue.. North Carolina is one of 22 states that do not allow municipal courts, while Georgia is in the majority of states that do.. State legislators looking to prevent abuses in their communities can look to the legal survey to see where their state may be going wrong.. Even in states that allow municipal courts, the potential for abuse can be reduced by doing things like requiring hearings to determine ability to pay, providing fair notice of rights, or limiting courts' ability to suspend people's driver's licenses or send people to jail when they can't afford to pay.. In 2021, the Sherwood city court will transition into a state court, and the judge's salary will come from the state's treasury.. I