Just 20 minutes north of Birmingham on Interstate 22, Brookside, Alabama is a working-class town with less than 1,300 residents. From 2018 to 2020, income from traffic fines and forfeitures increased 640%, making up 49% of the town’s revenue. In 2019, Brookside saw its first lawsuit that included allegations of racism and police misconduct. It caught national attention for being a predatory speed trap in 2022 and now facing a class-action federal lawsuit. Thank you to our podcast partner, 70 Million, for the story “Highway Robbery: How a Small-Town Traffic Trap Became A Legal Black Hole.” 

Learn more about the story and find the transcript on makingcontactradio.org. Like this story? Support independent journalism, NewsMatch will double your donation up to $1,000! Making Contact is a 29-minute weekly program committed to investigative journalism and in-depth critical analysis that goes beyond the breaking news.

FEATURING: Pulitzer Prize winning journalist John Archibald, Brookside residents Sandra Harris and Ashley, Leah Nelson, Alabama Appleseed’s research director, Birmingham Criminal and civil rights lawyer Bill Dawson, Adam Danneman, head of the Jefferson County Public Defender's Office and Joanna Weiss, Fines and Fees Justice Center’s co-director. 

70 MILLION EPISODE CREDITS: Episode reporter Rhana Natour, editor Monica Lopez and Juleyka Lantigua, host Mitzi Miller, sound designer Erica Huang, photo editor Michelle Baker, staff writer and designer Kori Doran, lead fact checker Haylee Millikan, lead producer Pamela Kirkland, episode photographer Amarr Croskey, creator/executive producer Juleyka Lantigua MAKING CONTACT: Host Anita Johnson, producers Anita Johnson, Salima Hamirani, Amy Gastelum, and Lucy Kang, executive director Jina Chung. MUSIC: Blue Dot Session - Curiously, Curiously Quiet Orchestra - My Friends