Ohio City, Municipal Court Revises Unconstitutional Fee That Violates Motorists’ Right to Due Process

ARLINGTON, Va.— After discussions with the Institute for Justice (IJ), the City of Willoughby Hills and the Willoughby Hills Municipal Court revised their appeal fee that required motorists to pay $25 to be able to appeal their traffic camera ticket. Charging Ohioans a fee to appeal a ticket levied against them is an unconstitutional, money-making scheme and deprives people of their rights. 

“After discussions with counsel for the city and the court, IJ is pleased to see that the City of Willoughby Hills and the Willoughby Hills Municipal Court made this change,” said IJ Litigation Fellow Bobbi Taylor. “Due process means the right to be heard before deprivation of property, no matter how small.” 

Under the original system, Willoughby Hills forced drivers to pay a $25 “filing fee” if they wished to appeal a ticket issued by the city’s traffic photo enforcement system. Their appeal wouldn’t be processed until the fee was paid, which effectively put justice and a person’s right to due process behind a paywall. Now, the fee is assessed after a hearing, to the non-prevailing party. 

IJ has a long history of fighting money-making schemes that prioritize profit over safety. In 2023, IJ successfully stopped a similar unconstitutional court fee system charged by the village of Peninsula, Ohio and the Stow County Municipal Court. IJ has sued dozens of local governments for infringing on citizens’ rights by collecting unreasonable fees, including through procedures that violate the Constitution’s due process clause. IJ’s litigation includes Timbs v. Indiana, in which the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that the U.S. Constitution’s protection against excessive fines applied to state and local governments.