![Suit Challenging ‘Conviction Fees’ Is Withdrawn](http://townsquare.media/site/36/files/2014/06/Judges-Gavel-iStock.jpg?w=300&h=200&zc=1&s=0&a=t&q=89&w=980&q=75)
Suit Challenging ‘Conviction Fees’ Is Withdrawn
NEW ORLEANS (AP) — A lawsuit challenging a Louisiana court system's use of fees people pay upon conviction of misdemeanor crimes to cover a judge's salary and other court expenses has been withdrawn after the state eliminated the alleged conflict of interest.
The New Orleans-based Roderick and Solange MacArthur Justice Center asked a federal court Tuesday to dismiss its class-action lawsuit filed against the "conviction fee" system in Ascension Parish.
The center's staff attorney, Eric Foley, says a new state law puts the Judicial Expense Fund under direct control of the Ascension Parish government and its chief financial officer — not a judge who gets paid if a defendant is found guilty.
Foley says they'll monitor to make sure the statute in fact makes the court's funding independent of money it collects through convictions.
Copyright 2016 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
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