(AP) The Missouri Supreme Court has struck down portions
of a law that imposed special requirements on Ferguson and other cities and
police in St. Louis County following unrest after the fatal police shooting of
18-year-old Michael Brown.The court ruled Tuesday that the 2015 law was unconstitutional because the
state failed to justify provisions treating St. Louis County differently from
the rest of the state.
of a law that imposed special requirements on Ferguson and other cities and
police in St. Louis County following unrest after the fatal police shooting of
18-year-old Michael Brown.The court ruled Tuesday that the 2015 law was unconstitutional because the
state failed to justify provisions treating St. Louis County differently from
the rest of the state.
One stricken section required St. Louis County police agencies to be
accredited and cities to maintain balanced budgets. Another limited the county’s
cities to getting no more than 12.5 percent of their revenue from traffic fines
and court fees, as opposed to 20 percent elsewhere in Missouri.
The U.S. Justice Department investigated following Brown’s 2014 death in
Ferguson, finding the St. Louis suburb operated a profit-driven municipal court
system.
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