Sevy had gone to Royal Oak’s 44th District Court in February to pay his parking fine with his credit card, but the $10 fine would have cost him a $1.75 transaction fee.
So, he got a bag of $10 worth of pennies and submitted them to the clerk. But the clerk turned down the money. When he asked why they refused to allow him to pay in pennies, the clerk verbally abused Sevy. An officer then intervened, instructing him to leave the premises.
According to U.S. Law Code 31.5103, “United States coins and currency (including Federal reserve notes and circulating notes of Federal reserve banks and national banks) are legal tender for all debts, public charges, taxes, and dues.” Those in government who refuse to take legal tender such as these pennies are not acting lawfully.
Nevertheless, when Sevy began to leave, he was attacked from behind, slammed violently against the wall and on the ground, and choked to the point he defecated himself. But his ordeal didn’t end. He was handcuffed, taken to a holding cell and charged with assaulting or obstructing a police officer and disturbing the peace.
Though he suffered head trauma, fright and shock from the experience as well as embarrassment from the public defecation, Sevy pleaded no contest to the disturbing the peace charge and the assault charge was later dropped.
The federal lawsuit says Sevy accepted the charges “out of fear and threat from the court system” and avoiding a felony— assaulting a police officer— on his record.
Sevy’s attorney, Jonathan Marko, elaborated:
“He
wasn’t happy about [the fee] so, in symbolic protest, he brought back
penny rolls to pay for his ticket. The clerk wasn’t too happy about
that, they refused to allow him to pay with penny rolls. As he was
leaving the courthouse with his back to the officer, the court officer began to choke him out, grabbing him, brought him to the ground. Mr. Sevy passed out and defecated himself.
“I
don’t think anyone paying in penny rolls, whether it’s a preferred thing
to do for a court clerk, warrants this type of this assaultive behavior
and violation of constitutional rights. I think the more profound and
long-lasting injury is the psychological injuries he’s suffering as a
result of this. He’s supposed to be in a safe place. I don’t think that
in everyday course of business, we poop our pants or go around
defecating ourselves.”
Royal Oaks, reports The Free Thought Project, are notorious for their
predatory revenue collection schemes in regards to parking fees and
fines. They issue roughly 100,000 tickets every year, raking in millions
of dollars [about $2.15 million in revenue per year].
