With Judicial Correction Services out of the picture, many people that were on payment plans to pay minor fines and municipal court fees are unsure of what to do.

JCS, a private probation company, decided to leave the state of Alabama after the Southern Poverty Law Center filed a racketeering lawsuit against them.

JCS had contracts with more than 100 cities in Alabama, including Selma.

As of Nov. 15, Judicial Correction Services is no longer operating in Selma, and Judge Prince Chestnut, who presides over Selma Municipal Court, said the city is working to come up with a solution.

“We don’t want anybody to be afraid that something bad is going to happen to them,” Chestnut said. “This is a transition, and we’re in the process of trying to deal with that too. Nothing bad is going to happen to anybody.”

According to Chestnut, between 80 and 90 people were on a payment plan with JCS.

Chestnut said that number is much less than some cities that are making the transition from having JCS collect court fees and fines to collecting themselves.

“We need to bring all of these folks back in and find out where we are,” Chestnut said.

“And then have a way for those that we need to collect on, we have a way to collect with them.”

Chestnut said his office is compiling a list of people that were on a payment program with JCS, and they will be sending out notifications for hearing dates.

“I’m going to notify my clerk there to just set a few dates for the JCS folks where they would come in during the court proceedings, and then I would explain to them that these folks have moved on or shut down, and this is what we have on file,” Chestnut said.

“This is what it is saying you owe or whatever the case may be, and this is what we can arrange for you.”

Chestnut, who is familiar with some people’s situations because he sees them in his courtroom, said each situation for now will be handled differently.

“We want to bring people in on a case-by-case basis. We really don’t want to do a one size fits all thing because some people have a lot more means than others,” Chestnut said.

Chestnut said he is going to work with people who can’t afford to pay their fees by allowing them to do community service, whether it is around the courthouse, the cemetery or the animal shelter.

“That is going to be my plan for a lot of folks,” Chestnut said. “For those who can pay, let’s work that out. For those who can’t, let’s give them an option to just work it off.”

Chestnut said the main thing people that were on payment plans with JCS should do during the transition process is to communicate with Selma Municipal Court office.

“The thing that gets people in trouble is when they just kind of totally ignore, and they just say I’m not going to worry about it,” Chestnut said.

“That’s the thing that gets people in trouble, but if they communicate and let us know what’s going on … we’ll work it out. We’ll find a way to make it work for everybody.”

Chestnut said he urges anyone with questions about the transition to call Selma Municipal Court at 874-2135.

“We just want things to run smoothly,” Chestnut said. “We’re working on trying to come up with a more permanent solution in dealing with everything.”