A Little Louisiana Town Makes $1.3 Million From Traffic Tickets

Fenton, Louisiana, raised eyebrows recently for drawing a staggering 92.5 percent of its revenue from fines and forfeitures, a difference from the national average of 1.7 percent. How does a tiny village of 226 residents manage to pull in $1.3 million?

Well, the village operates something called a Mayor’s Court, a system that doesn't exist in 48 other states. Here, the mayor gets to play the role of judge and jury and can even appoint their own prosecutor, despite lacking any legal credentials.

That's quite the setup, considering the mayor also holds the purse strings in Fenton. Of course, this left many speechless, with people wondering whether the mayor's rulings and fines are actually following the law or not. ProPublica's investigation uncovered some rather questionable notes made by officers during traffic stops.

There were fines slapped on individuals for having a bad attitude. In many of those cases, police officers and town workers were told not to "fix" or "help" people with that approach. One person who was fined $305 said, “Refused phone number; driver was very disrespectful; no help.” “Very bad attitude. Do not fix” read another one that has a $490 fine.

Records show cases dismissed with a simple note saying "Dismissed per Chief Alfred," although the Chief of Police mentioned that he doesn't have that final authority. The pressure prompted a meeting of the board of aldermen. They chatted about hiring a new judge, but guess what? According to Mayor Eddie Alfred Jr., who also serves as the judge in Fenton, Louisiana, the general consensus seemed to be, "I think we should put it off because I think this court is fair."