State Courts Underfunded Despite Rising Court Fees

Rachel Osier Lindley | April 15, 2015

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In Cleburne County Alabama, a speeding ticket could cost you about $20. But after the fees kick in, you could end up owing almost $300. Alabama Media Group political commentator Kyle Whitmire reports that, while the state is staunchly against new taxes, rising court fees are being used more and more to fund general government operations.

But not enough goes back into supporting and adequately funding the court system.

“In Alabama, we’ve been doing a good job of using court revenue for things that don’t have much if anything to do with courts, but we’ve been doing a pretty terrible job actually funding those same courts,” says Whitmire.

That’s according to a study by the Public Affairs Research Council of Alabama (PARCA), commissioned by the Alabama State Bar.

Now Whitmire says the state’s budget crisis is only making the situation worse.

“We have a budget that’s proposed where the courts would actually be putting more money into the general fund than they would be getting out,” says Whitmire.