Cleveland’s Clerk of Courts office has been accused of manipulating parking ticket payments for two decades to pressure drivers into paying debts beyond what was legally required to remove registration blocks (DETER holds). Former employees allege that the office would artificially create shortfalls in payments for tickets tied to DETER holds, then reapply the funds to unrelated, older tickets. This practice created a “two systems of justice,” where drivers unaware of their rights might pay significantly more. While the clerk’s office claims software limitations necessitated these “workarounds,” the software vendor and former employees dispute this, stating the system was capable of proper enforcement. The practice reportedly ceased after media scrutiny and consultation with the city’s law department, though the office maintains its DETER hold policy aligns with the law.