Louisiana town runs largely on traffic fines, and the mayor is your judge

By (not verified) on Friday, November 17, 2023
  • “The mayor who’s trying to raise money for the city is in charge of prosecuting these minor criminal offenses and getting fines brought back to the city.” — Joel Friedman, an emeritus professor at Tulane University in New Orleans. (Submitted photo)
    “The mayor who’s trying to raise money for the city is in charge of prosecuting these minor criminal offenses and getting fines brought back to the city.” — Joel Friedman, an emeritus professor at Tulane University in New Orleans. (Submitted photo)
    The village of Fenton, outside the oil and gas town of Lake Charles, covers only about 20 blocks. There’s City Hall. The library. One gas station. A small public housing complex. A Dollar General. A grain elevator. A Baptist church. Drivers headed to east Texas from central Louisiana go right through town, passing it all in under a minute. This article was produced for ProPublica’s Local Repo...

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