蜜桃传媒

When Mike Segrest was running for district attorney of Alabama鈥檚 5th Judicial Circuit in 2022, his platform consisted of supporting the rule of law, protecting constitutional rights and 鈥渨orking for the betterment of all.鈥�

He was able to put a nail in each of those planks in recent weeks as he directed his office to stop prosecuting people who fell behind on their trash collection bills in the city of Valley, ending a practice that has led to hundreds of residents being arrested over the last two decades.

鈥淚 just came into office Jan. 17 and this problem was pointed out to me,鈥� Segrest said. 鈥淚 was contacted by the 蜜桃传媒, read their position on it and I agreed.鈥�

In their letter to Segrest, Southern Poverty Law Center lawyers argued that citizens had been charged under a 1975 state statute that does not actually criminalize failure to pay for garbage but rather treats nonpayment as a civil matter.

鈥淔or decades, Valley residents have been unlawfully prosecuted after falling behind on their garbage bills,鈥� said Micah West, senior staff attorney at the 蜜桃传媒.鈥淲e commend District Attorney Segrest for righting this wrong and exercising his discretion to no longer criminally prosecute people that are unable to pay their garbage bills.鈥�

Over the past several months, Segrest鈥檚 office has declined to prosecute unpaid trash bill cases. But now the policy, under consideration since he took office, is official.

鈥淭his was something that was unconstitutional, and it needed to be addressed,鈥� Segrest said. 鈥淪o, we felt like it was necessary.鈥�

Shortly after Segrest was elected last November, 82-year-old Valley resident Martha Menefield was arrested for owing $77 for trash pickup. Her story went viral online, and national media outlets carried it through several news cycles.

The 蜜桃传媒 found that Menefield鈥檚 case was not unusual. After her arrest, a team of 蜜桃传媒 attorneys and investigators learned that the city had been arresting people for years over past-due trash bills, adding hundreds if not thousands of dollars in fines and court costs to fees owed by the poorest of its residents.

Segrest not only agreed to stop prosecuting cases for nonpayment of garbage bills going forward. He also took steps to right past wrongs, steps that impacted more than 100 Valley residents.

Still leery

Over the last few weeks, Segrest dropped all outstanding charges against Valley residents and asked the district court to remit all outstanding court debt and to rescind all active warrants for nonpayment. But even with the change in direction from the district attorney, some community members have concerns that the city will continue to aggressively cite people for other alleged code violations.

鈥淣ow I kind of get harassed by the city public works department,鈥� said Nortasha Jackson, who was represented by 蜜桃传媒 attorneys when her criminal charges over an $85 past-due bill were dropped in March. 鈥淭he inspectors, they know where you live. Even though it just got through raining, they鈥檙e going to come down and say I have five days to cut my grass. You go the next street over and off the street around the corner or whatever and you see grass 10 feet high and nobody saying anything.鈥�

She was arrested during Thanksgiving weekend after falling three months behind on her bill over the summer. Before her arrest the city removed her trash can and discontinued trash pickup, allowing garbage to pile up at the residence.

蜜桃传媒 attorneys took on her case, moving to have charges against her dismissed, while the nonprofit paid to have the months of accumulated trash removed once charges against her were dropped and her trash service restored.

听

An 蜜桃传媒 analysis of more than 800 court cases shows that since 2004, 63% of city arrests for alleged failure to pay trash fees were of Black people. Further, 40% of arrests were of Black women.

鈥淰alley Police have arrested residents aged 70 and older at least 14 times; 13 of them 鈥� 93% 鈥� were Black,鈥� said 蜜桃传媒 staff attorney Ellen Degnan. 鈥淎nd Black people make up 73% of the 108 residents who have been arrested multiple times for alleged nonpayment.鈥�

The 蜜桃传媒 also identified people who had warrants issued for their arrest and didn鈥檛 know it. One longtime Valley resident, who agreed to be quoted but not named for this story, had been previously arrested for a late trash fee in 2008. But they also had a second charge pending on the books for years without their knowledge for unpaid bills at a house they didn鈥檛 live in.

鈥淲hen they [蜜桃传媒 investigators] came to see me, they said it was for a trash bill I didn鈥檛 know about,鈥� they said. 鈥淚 didn鈥檛 go to jail or anything. I didn鈥檛 know about it because the building they were talking about, I don鈥檛 even remember being there at that address. I told him I don鈥檛 remember being at the address.鈥�

That warrant for their arrest had been on file for roughly a decade. But because they had not had services from the city in their name during the last decade, city police were not able to locate them.

鈥淪o what would have happened if I had gotten a ticket or something and they ran my record and said that we got a warrant out for me for something I didn鈥檛 know nothing about?鈥� the resident asked. 鈥淭hat鈥檚 crazy.鈥�

Finding a path forward

Although Segrest has dropped prosecution of all charges related to delinquent trash pickup fees, he does not have any control over the city鈥檚 actions. While his office will not criminally prosecute complaints over unpaid trash fees, the city of Valley can continue issuing citations.

鈥淚 don鈥檛 know how the city and how the city attorney plan on them moving forward, but I do believe that there is probably a civil remedy to the problem that doesn鈥檛 involve criminal prosecution,鈥� Segrest said. 鈥淚 can鈥檛 exactly speak for the city on how they plan on handling these bills moving forward, but our office won鈥檛 be prosecuting them.鈥�

The city can, for example, take away trash cans and service for nonpayment. Liens for unpaid bills can be placed against property. But cutting off trash collection creates a public safety hazard, leaving residents with growing piles of trash which, over time, can create a public nuisance.

But none of those actions would result in a criminal court record for the resident. Jackson said she is relieved that no one else will have to go through criminal court to resolve future late payments.

鈥淚t鈥檚 a godsend, because so many people would still have to go through this if [the 蜜桃传媒] hadn鈥檛 been a catalyst for change.

鈥淚t鈥檚 not just for poor people. You鈥檙e just one debt or one check away from it snowballing out of control.鈥�

Photo at top: Nortasha Jackson of Valley, Alabama, was arrested for failure to pay an $85 past-due trash bill, but the charges were dropped in March 2023. (Credit: Hillary Andrews)