Discrimination Lawsuit Against Maplewood Can Go Forward

MAPLEWOOD, MO — A lawsuit against the City of Maplewood can proceed, an appeals court said last week, ruling that the municipality has no sovereign immunity from a lawsuit alleging its application of traffic and motor vehicle fines is unconstitutional. ArchCity Defenders, a legal advocacy group, has accused the city of running a pay-to-play scheme that targets African Americans and the poor through its municipal court system.

The group argues that people accused of minor traffic violations are often jailed based solely on their ability to pay. For example, before a defendant can receive information on the charges against them, schedule a court date, or appear before a judge, they must first pay the City of Maplewood between $500 and $800 to recall the warrant against them or face arrest and jail time, according to the complaint.

“Poor people and people of color have known about Maplewood’s policies for years,” ArchCity Defenders executive director Thomas Harvey said in 2016. “Our clients say Maplewood’s police and court practices have prohibited them from driving through, shopping, and even living in Maplewood.”

The Metropolitan St. Louis Equal Housing and Opportunity Council has also accused the city of violating the Fair Housing Act by routinely discriminating against women, people of color and disabled residents, and using its nuisance laws to target minorities.

"Maplewood designates certain residents to be nuisances simply because they have been the subject of multiple police calls, regardless of whether they did anything wrong," a 2017 suit states, adding that even victims of domestic violence are routinely added to the list for calling police on their abusers.

Effectively, the council argues, the city uses nuisance laws to "banish" African Americans by revoking their occupancy permits, "perpetuating Maplewood's status as a 'white' community in the starkly segregated St. Louis metropolitan area."

The city has denied any wrongdoing, with City Manager Marty Corcoran saying that most complaints come from other residents, not the city, according to the Post-Dispatch.

ArchCity Defenders is seeking an injunction to stop the practices and compensation for alleged victims. The suit seems set to go to trial sometime this year, though Maplewood can still appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court.

Image via Shutterstock