Attorney General lawsuit settlement shuts down Marshfield speed trap

(From Attorney General Eric Schmitt)

The Missouri Attorney General’s Office announced today that the Office has reached a settlement with the City of Marshfield after the Office sued the city for allegedly enforcing a traffic ticket quota. The consent judgment, which provides strong injunctive relief, was signed and entered by the judge yesterday afternoon. 

“As a State Senator, I helped pass Senate Bill 5 to fight back against the practice of taxation by citation and restore trust between citizens and municipal courts. Now, as Attorney General, I have a duty to enforce SB5 and related provisions,” said Attorney General Schmitt. 

“I’m pleased with the agreement that my office has reached with the City of Marshfield, which provides strong injunctive relief to ensure that traffic ticket quotas aren’t enforced in the future. My office will continue to enforce SB5 across the state.” 

As part of the consent judgment, the City of Marshfield “concedes that actions taken could be construed as having a policy requiring or encourage employees to issue a certain number of citations for traffic violations.”

The injunctive relief requires: 

The City of Marshfield must develop, establish, and maintain adequate internal policies, procedures, or regulations designed to ensure compliance with laws pertaining to traffic ticket quotas, and the City must certify compliance to the Attorney General’s Office by August 31, 2020 

The City of Marshfield must design and operate a training program to ensure compliance with laws pertaining to traffic ticket quotas. That training must happen by October 1, 2020, and will be attended by the Mayor, the members of the board of aldermen, and the Chief of Police.

Additionally, the City of Marshfield agrees to a review by the Missouri Attorney General’s Office in one year to ensure compliance with the consent judgment and applicable laws. That review will take a look at the City of Marshfield’s ticketing policies and practices and will audit the revenue generated through the City of Marshfield’s municipal court system.

Noncompliance with the consent judgment could result in penalties or further legal action from the Missouri Attorney General’s Office.

Read the full consent judgment here: https://ago.mo.gov/docs/default-source/press-releases/https___www-courts-mo-gov_fv_c__l=smpdb0005_ct30-di=2246481.pdf?sfvrsn=368568ed_2