Illegal Penalty Assessment Violates the 8th Amendment

As many LA County residents have discovered, the 8th Amendment to the United States Constitution seems to not apply in the LA County Court system. The courts have turned a blind eye and deaf ear to the terms “…excessive bail shall not be required, nor excessive fines imposed…”
 
All persons who have found themselves faced with the courts “Penalty Assessment” knows exactly what we mean. The assessment is separate from the fine for the offense committed and it is more than the fine itself. How much more? 221% more!
 
In simple terms, for every traffic violation in the County of Los Angeles, the county places a 70% Penalty Assessment on every $10.00 (or portion thereof) of the original fine and the state places a 140% Penalty Assessment for every $10.00 (or portion thereof). Therefore a speeding ticket that carries a fine of $125.00 will be assessed the sum of $273.00 plus the original fine to the cost of $398.00 plus any additional assessments. An infraction that carries a penalty of $250 will be assessed $525.00 plus the original fine costing $775.00 plus any other assessments. Hence , the violate will pay, on top of what may or may not be considered a fair penalty, an additional 221% -- a clear violation of the 8th Amendment.
 
This math was based on the 210% assessment figure; it has since been increased to 221%
The more the fine, the more money the county and state take in. Some payments are over $1,500 for one violation.

Because of the lack of legal oversight on this matter some municipalities think they have hit a gold vein (lucrative income stream) and putting up more and more of the "Stop Light Camera's" which are privately owned and easily manipulated for profit.
 
David Hernandez pledges to work to end this abuse of the public’s fundamental rights protected under the US Constitution. Beginning January of 2007 we will begin our class action law suit against the City of Los Angeles, County of Los Angeles and the State of California. More to follow on how to be a party to the suit. A web site will soon be online for those who have been subject to this violation of the US Constitution to sign up as a party.
 
Mr. Hernandez says, "I have already met with my attorney, who by the way, represented Cesar Chavez for 20 years. We are well aware of the programs this 221% goes to fund and since some are very worthwhile, they should be funded on their own, not at the expenses of our constitutional rights."
 
Those wanting to get on the 8th Amendment early warning e-mail list, just signup HERE.

So look out 2007, we have just begun to bring equity and fair play back to Los Angeles.