LIFE IN OBAMA’S AMERICA: Charged a Fee for Getting Arrested, Whether Guilty or Not.

Corey Statham had $46 in his pockets when he was arrested in Ramsey County, Minn., and charged with disorderly conduct. He was released two days later, and the charges were dismissed.

But the county kept $25 of Mr. Statham’s money as a “booking fee.” It returned the remaining $21 on a debit card subject to an array of fees. In the end, it cost Mr. Statham $7.25 to withdraw what was left of his money.

The Supreme Court will soon consider whether to hear Mr. Statham’s challenge to Ramsey County’s fund-raising efforts, which are part of a national trend to extract fees and fines from people who find themselves enmeshed in the criminal justice system.

After 8 years of Barack Obama, it’s shocking that the Department of Justice has done nothing about this. Nor have Democrats in Congress enacted civil rights laws to eliminate these kinds of practices. But in less than a month, I predict, this sort of thing will be blamed on the “Trump Era.” Meanwhile, I think that people who are jailed but never convicted should be compensated for the time they lose to the criminal justice system.