1 of 2
Photography by Kevin A. Roberts
2 of 2
Photography by Kevin A. Roberts
Nicole Bolden with her family
Nicole Bolden’s worst two weeks started with a car accident in Florissant. On Thursday, March 20, 2014, the driver in front of her made an illegal U-turn, causing a collision. The police officer who responded was nice at first. Then he ran Bolden’s name.
A few years earlier, she had been pulled over for speeding in Bel-Ridge. She received several tickets, including for nonmoving violations known as “poverty crimes,” offenses based on the failure to pay for something—expired license plates, expired registration, no proof of insurance…
Bolden skipped her court date because she couldn’t afford to pay. It’s a common misconception that if you can’t pay, you’ll go to jail. In fact, failing to appear in court causes more problems. A warrant was issued for Bolden’s arrest. Eventually, she was picked up and spent three days in jail in 2009. With help from her lawyer, she resolved the case. But since Bolden couldn’t afford to “fix” her tickets—pay high fines to avoid points—her license was suspended.
Over time, she also received tickets in Hazelwood, Dellwood, and Foristell, where she was put on a payment plan after receiving four tickets in a single stop. When her third installment came in late, another warrant was issued for her arrest. Hazelwood and Dellwood issued warrants, too.
Having discovered all of this, the Florissant officer handed Bolden more tickets. “Do you have anybody who could come get your children right now?” he asked. “I’m going to have to take you in.”
Florissant held her for 24 hours. At 9 a.m. on Friday, she was transferred to Hazelwood, where she used child support money to post a $125 bond. At 1 a.m. on Saturday, the St. Louis County Police transferred her to the county jail in Clayton, which holds prisoners for Dellwood. Her cousin came and posted a $100 bond.
Only Foristell remained. An officer told Bolden that if Foristell didn’t come to pick her up, she might be released. But Foristell did come, around 3 a.m. on Sunday. She was taken to the St. Charles County jail.
At this point, Bolden had been bouncing from jail to jail for three days. She hadn’t seen her kids, hadn’t showered, and had barely eaten. She was unemployed at the time and missed a job interview while locked up. (Bolden is now working at Walmart. She has two associate’s degrees, including one in paralegal studies.)
Bolden was told that she would be held until a court date in May unless she could post a bond of more than $1,700. “Mentally, I broke down,” she says. “Who is supposed to take care of my kids?” Bolden was placed on suicide watch.
She didn’t have to wait until May, but she did sit in jail for more than a week. For court on April 2, she was forced back into the dirty clothes she’d arrived wearing.
With help from her attorneys at Arch City Defenders, she was able to have the bond reduced to $700. The next day, her mother took out a loan against a life insurance policy, and her sister signed over her whole paycheck, forsaking her bills. Together, it was enough to finally buy Bolden’s freedom, after 15 days. With no one to drive them, her children had missed a week of school.
The Foristell court agreed to accept the bond amount as payment for the fines, meaning that Bolden paid $700 for one traffic stop.
Stories like hers are making a difference. The Missouri Supreme Court changed statewide rules to prevent poor people from being incarcerated because they cannot pay. A committee in St. Louis County is working with municipal courts on reforms. And 24 municipalities in North County are considering merging their courts.
Still, Bolden’s trouble isn’t over. “The points are on me now,” Bolden says, “so they ended up suspending my license again.”
