AFTER SPLC INTERVENTION, PROSECUTIONS OVER LATE TRASH BILLS END IN ALABAMA CITY

When Mike Segrest was running for district attorney of Alabama’s 5th Judicial Circuit in 2022, his platform consisted of supporting the rule of law, protecting constitutional rights and “working for the betterment of all.”

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.

“I just came into office Jan. 17 and this problem was pointed out to me,” Segrest said. “I was contacted by the SPLC, read their position on it and I agreed.”

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.

“For decades, Valley residents have been unlawfully prosecuted after falling behind on their garbage bills,” said Micah West, senior staff attorney at the SPLC.“We 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.”


https://www.splcenter.org/news/2023/07/19/splc-intervention-albama-late-trash-bill-prosecutions