Please enjoy the latest edition of Short Circuit, a weekly feature written by a bunch of people at the Institute for Justice.
Last year, Brookside, Ala. became the poster child of policing for profit. The town relentlessly towed cars to extract fees and issued dubious traffic citations, without regard for public safety or constitutional rights. Town leaders boasted of their 600% revenue increase, almost all of which went right back to the police to buy expensive SUVs and other goodies. Last week, a federal court rejected the town's and its towing-company partner's effort to dismiss IJ's class action, which demands accountability and the return of the town's ill-gotten gains.
