developments, but many deficiencies remain.[1] Given the high number of arrest warrants issued by the municipal court—and given that in many cases a person can only clear a pending warrant or secure release from detention by posting bond—the deficiencies identified below impose significant harm to individuals in Ferguson.
Current bond practices are unclear and inconsistent. Information provided by the City reveals a haphazard bond system that results in people being erroneously arrested, and some people paying bond but not getting credit for having done so. Documents describe officers finding hundred dollar bills in their pockets that were given to them for bond payment and not remembering which jail detainee provided them; bond paperwork being found on the floor; and individuals being arrested after their bonds had been accepted because the corresponding warrants were never cancelled. At one point in 2012, Ferguson's Court Clerk called such issues a "daily problem." The City's practices for receiving and tracking bond payments have not changed appreciably since then.
The practices for setting bond are similarly erratic. The Municipal Judge advised us that he sets all bonds upon issuing an arrest warrant. We found, however, that bond amounts are mostly set by court staff, and are rarely even reviewed by the Judge. While court staff told us that the current bond schedule requires a bond of $200 for up to four traffic offenses, $100 for every traffic offense thereafter, $100 for every Failure to Appear charge, and $300 for every criminal offense, FPD's own policy includes a bond schedule that departs from these figures. In practice, bond amounts vary widely. See FPD General Order 421.02. Our review of a random sample of warrants indicates that bond is set in a manner that often departs from both the schedule referenced by court staff and the schedule found in FPD policy. In a number of these cases, the bond amount far exceeded the amount of the underlying fine.
The court's bond practices, including the fact that the court often imposes bonds that exceed the amount owed to the court, do not appear to be grounded in any public safety need. In a July 2014 email to Chief Jackson and other police officials, the Court Clerk reported that "[s]tarting today we are going to reduce anyone's bond that calls and is in warrant[] to half the amount," explaining that "[t]his may bring in some extra monies this way." The email identifies no public safety obstacle or other reason not to implement the bond reduction. Notably, the email also states that "[w]e will only do this between the hours of 8:30 to 4" and that no half-bond will be accepted after those hours unless the Court Clerk approves it.[2] Thus, as a result of this policy, an individual able to appear at the court window during business hours would pay half as much to clear a warrant as an individual who is actually arrested on a warrant after hours. That Ferguson's bond practices do not appear grounded in public safety is underscored by the
- ↑ For example, the recent orders fail to specify that, in considering whether to adjust the bond imposed, the court shall make an assessment of an individual's ability to pay, and assign bond proportionately. Cf. Pugh v. Rainwater, 572 F.2d 1053, 1057 (5th Cir. 1978) (en banc) (noting that the incarceration of those who cannot afford to meet the requirements of a fixed bond schedule "without meaningful consideration of other possible alternatives" infringes on due process and equal protection requirements).
- ↑ The court's website states that the court window is open from 8:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., not 4:00 p.m. See City Courts, City of Ferguson, http://www.fergusoncity.com/60/The-City-Of-Ferguson-Municipal-Courts (last visited Feb. 26, 2015).
recent order further provides that, even if an individual does not pay the bond required, he or she shall in any case be released after 12 hours, rather than the previous 72-hour limit.
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