How Prosecutors Score a Windfall Turning Small Tickets Into Big Fees

There is a new sheriff in town in Indio, California and he’s coming after residents who find themselves caught in the city’s outrageous new code enforcement law.

That sheriff is a private, for-profit law firm called Silver and Wright, which was hired by Indio in 2014 to serve as the city’s official prosecutor for code enforcement cases. The firm’s pitch was appealing. It offered “cost neutral or even revenue producing” prosecution services, so long as the city changed its ordinances to allow the firm to bill property owners for its full attorneys fees.

http://ij.org/case/indio-fines

The consequences of the city’s cost-savings decision have had devastating effects on residents unfortunate enough to get caught up in the system.

In 2015, Ramona Morales received a $175 citation in the mail after a city inspector noticed a chicken in the backyard of a home she rents out. Ramona went to court, explained that her tenants were confused about the legality of raising chickens in Indio, and ultimately agreed to pay the nominal fine. She thought the ordeal was over, but it was actually just getting started.

Nearly a year later, Ramona received a bill in the mail from Silver and Wright, demanding $3,030 in attorney’s fees. The firm threatened to sell her home, if she refused to pay. Ramona appealed the fees, lost, and was billed an additional $2,628 for the cost of the appeal. In the end, she paid nearly $6,000 in attorneys fees for a minor infraction of the city code.

Ramona is not alone. As the Desert Sun reported, residents in Indio, Coachella, and elsewhere in California have been billed thousands of dollars in attorneys fees by Silver and Wright. Since 2014, the firm has signed up dozens of other California cities.
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