Hilda Brucker has lived in Doraville, Georgia for over 25 years. She received citations for (1) “Rotted wood on house and chipping paint on fascia boards”; “(2) High weeds in backyard and ivy on tree and vines on house”; and (3) “Driveway in a state of disrepair”, but never received any notices. She first learned of the citations via a phone call from a municipal court employee in October 2016. In court, she was ordered to pay a $100 fine and serve a 6 month probationary prison term. The amount would increase to $249 if she didn’t pay the fine all at once and instead used a monthly payment plan. Brucker engaged an attorney and eventually in August 2017, the prosecutor dropped the charges. The case was dismissed but only after she paid the $100 fine. The fine was not reimbursed and there is no documentation of the dismissal. As with anyone with an older home, she lives under the threat of receiving future tickets for such violations.
Related: Brucker et al. v. The City of Doraville, Institute for Justice video about the case