A state audit finds that a now-defunct suburban St. Louis municipal court illegally charged fees on dismissed cases and that police were collecting unlawful booking fees at the jail.
Missouri State Auditor Nicole Galloway released findings Monday of the audit requested by Northwoods residents. That city has dissolved its municipal court and transferred cases to St. Ann under a courts consolidation push in St. Louis County.
Galloway said that while the court's record-keeping hampered efforts to determine the extent of inappropriate activities, many of the audit-uncovered concerns have been addressed through the merger.
St. Louis-area courts drew increased scrutiny after a federal investigation of Ferguson's justice system following the 2014 police shooting death of Michael Brown concluded that many of the courts were profit-driven, often at the expense of minorities.
