^ This possibility is made more credible by Justice OConnors note in the related case of Bearden v. Georgia that [d]ue process and equal protection principles converge in the Courts analysis in these cases. 461 U.S. 660, 665 (1983). In fact, under the state law protections, criminal justice debtors would face a much friendlier inquiry than they would under Beardens freestanding equal protection jurisprudence.160 This is true under either of the two rules detailed above. Const. In the end, however, imprisonment for debt was abolished not by an organized reform movement but, instead, by substantial changes in commercial practices and the corresponding . . ^ See, e.g., Fla. Stat. How debt can lead to prison - Vox (Oct. 21, 2014) (notes on file with Harvard Law School Library). art. (prohibiting confinement for traffic violations except in enumerated situations). art. Mo. ^ See Complaint, Fant v. Ferguson, supra note 48, at 3. When dealing with costs, the states may adopt the reasoning of Strattman in their interpretations of state law, or the Fourteenth Amendment, under James and Fuller, may itself demand that reasoning. Finally, violations of monetary obligations that are statutorily defined as civil. ^ See, e.g., City of Danville v. Hartshorn, 292 N.E.2d 382, 384 (Ill. 1973) (describing violations of municipal ordinances as quasi-criminal in character [but] civil in form (quoting City of Decatur v. Chasteen, 166 N.E.2d 29, 39 (Ill. 1960))). By reading a z leveled books best pizza sauce at whole foods reading a z leveled books best pizza sauce at whole foods What are some types of debt that people are sent to jail for not paying? II, 16; Cal. A century and a half later, in 1983, the Supreme Court affirmed that incarcerating indigent debtors was unconstitutional under the Fourteenth Amendment's Equal Protection clause. See Act of May 5, 2015, 2015 Ga. Laws 422. Thats confusing for debtors, too. at 57 (Douglas, J., concurring in the judgment). See . To start, state debtor protections would not merely duplicate the federal ones. 3:15-cv-732 (S.D. ^ Id. Despite that, state judges continued to send people to jail for failing to pay court debts. No matter what, you can always turn to The Marshall Project as a source of trustworthy journalism about the criminal justice system. Posted on . for Justice, Criminal Justice Debt: A Barrier to Reentry 18 (2010), http://www.brennancenter.org/sites/default/files/legacy/Fees%20and%20Fines%20FINAL.pdf [http://perma.cc/6SVB-KZKQ]; Human Rights Watch, supra note 32, at 23. art. The percentage of people living in poverty in Biloxi has doubled since 2009. Most recently, it filed a successful petition for habeas corpus for Richard Vaughan, a man sentenced to 18 days in jail for failing to pay a $895 fine that he could not afford. Alec Karakatsanis, a lawyer who last year brought one of the only lawsuits to successfully challenge a local court system for jailing indigent debtors, says that the first step was the normalization of incarceration. ^ Id. See sources cited supra note 95. ^ But cf. at 131. State and local courts have increasingly attempted to supplement their funding by charging fees to people convicted of crimes, including fees for public defenders, prosecutors, court administration, jail operation, and probation supervision. Debtors' Prisons | American Civil Liberties Union Rev. . Purporting to save taxpayer dollars, these outfits force the offenders themselves to foot the bill for parole, reentry, drug rehab, electronic monitoring, and other services (some of which are not even assigned by a judge). A. ^ See, e.g., State ex rel. Debtor's prisons were abolished in the United States in 1833. We accept credit card, Apple Pay, and Google Pay. During this nation's early years, debtors were regularly imprisoned for failure to pay commercial debts. and is the first known codification of debt The second category, termed criminal justice financial obligations, actually consists of three sub-categories: fines, i.e. 227, 234 (2013). ^ Georgias law provides guidance for courts in indigency determinations. ^ See Bannon et al., supra note 34, at 6. at 56; see also William J. Stuntz, The Pathological Politics of Criminal Law, 100 Mich. L. Rev. VIII; Beth A. Colgan, Reviving the Excessive Fines Clause, 102 Calif. L. Rev. ^ Cf., e.g., Kimble v. Marvel Entmt, LLC, 135 S. Ct. 2401, 241011 (2015) (identifying the ero[sion] of statutory and doctrinal underpinnings, id. 556.061(29)) (defining infraction). Leaving traditional fines and restitution outside the scope of the state bans, this proposal would nonetheless engage with the most problematic types of criminal justice debt. 7. at 15556 (discussing child support payments); id. ^ See Complaint, Fant v. Ferguson, supra note 48; Complaint, Jenkins v. Jennings, supra note 24. art. 958, 958 (Ga. 1904))); and Appleton, 71 Mass. ^ Recent Legislation, supra note 23, at 1314. art. at 138. In other words, poor people with debt face criminal consequences but without the Constitutional protections afforded to criminal defendants. art. II, 12; Fla. Const. at 58 (Douglas, J., concurring in the judgment); see also id. Debtors' prisons impose devastating human costs. Congress abolished debtors' prisons in 1833. ^ See Recent Legislation, supra note 23, at 1313, 1315. for the enforcement of a judgment.); Mo. Rev. Read More. ^ See ACLU, In for a Penny: The Rise of Americas New Debtors Prisons 17 (2010), http://www.aclu.org/files/assets/InForAPenny_web.pdf [http://perma.cc/2C7C-X56S] (Louisiana); id. III, 38; Mich. Const. ^ Id. Yet during this period, the city, through the Biloxi Municipal Court, has aggressively pursued court fines and fee payments from indigent people by issuing warrants when payments are missed. Int. The threat of imprisonment may create a hostage effect, causing debtors to hand over money from disability and welfare checks, or inducing family members and friends who arent legally responsible for the debt to scrape together the money.10, Take the story of Harriet Cleveland as a window into the problem: Cleveland, a forty-nine-year-old mother of three from Montgomery, Alabama, worked at a day care center.11 Starting in 2008, Cleveland received several traffic tickets at a police roadblock in her Montgomery neighborhood for operating her vehicle without the appropriate insurance.12 After her license was suspended due to her nonpayment of the ensuing fines and court costs, she continued to drive to work and her childs school, incurring more debt to Montgomery for driving without a license.13 Over the course of several years, including after she was laid off from her job, Cleveland attempted to chip[] away at her debt while collection fees and other surcharges ballooned it up behind her back.14 On August 20, 2013, Cleveland was arrested at her home while babysitting her two-year-old grandson.15 The next day, a municipal judge ordered her to pay $1554 or spend thirty-one days in jail.16 She had no choice but to sit out her debt at the rate of $50 per day.17 In jail, [s]he slept on the floor, using old blankets to block the sewage from a leaking toilet.18. In Colorado, Linda Robertss offense of shoplifting $21 worth of food resulted in $746 of court costs, fines, fees, and restitution.37 Ms. Roberts, who lived exclusively on SNAP and Social Security disability benefits, sat out her debt by spending fifteen days in jail.38 And in Georgia, Tom Barrett was sentenced to twelve months of probation for stealing a can of beer.39 But six months in, despite selling his blood plasma, Barrett still couldnt pay the costs associated with his sentence including a $12-per-day ankle bracelet, a $50 set-up fee, and a $39-per-month fee to a private probation company and faced imprisonment.40 A 2010 Brennan Center report flagged problematic criminal justice debt practices in fifteen states, including California, Texas, Michigan, Pennsylvania, and New York.41 A 2010 ACLU report claimed that required indigency inquiries the heart of the constitutional protection provided by Bearden were markedly absent in Louisiana, Michigan, Ohio, Georgia, and Washington.42. . Additionally, interpreting the James and Fuller Courts as applying some degree of heightened scrutiny,148 the disparate application of the imprisonment-for-debt bans is an even better indicator of invidious discrimination149 than the disparate applications of the Kansas and Oregon exemption statutes. In 2011, Robin Sanders was driving home when she saw the blue and red lights flashing behind her. identified property owned by and in the possession or control of the judgment debtor . art. Well never put our work behind a paywall, and well never put a limit on the number of articles you can read. 899, 902 (Iowa 1932). Const. We are working in state legislatures and courts, and with judicial officials to end these practices once and for all. When (and why) did the courts revert to jailing debtors? art. See id. For example, violations of municipal ordinances boil down to the regulatory crimes category in states where municipalities are not empowered to imprison. ^ See Class Action Complaint at 13, Bell v. City of Jackson, No. I, 15; Ohio Const. While the contemporary discussion on criminal justice debt often makes cursory reference to this historic abolition of debtors prisons,25 the legal literature contains no sustained analysis of whether the state bans on debtors prisons might invalidate some of whats going on today. ^ This category would include constitutional provisions with an express carve-out for crime, e.g., Okla. Const. Const. II, 27; Neb. The lawsuit challenges the countys practice of generating revenue by forcing manual labor on, threatening jail, and jailing indigent people who are unable to afford to pay fines, fees, costs, and restitution imposed by the county on criminal defendants. ^ See, e.g., Telephone Interview with Nathan Woodliff-Stanley, Exec. ^ See William J. Brennan, Jr., State Constitutions and the Protection of Individual Rights, 90 Harv. Through the Tennessee Coalition for Sensible Justice, the ACLU of Tennessee supported the passage of SB 802/HB 1173, which would amend the law to offer courts alternatives to revoking peoples licenses, including allowing a person to file an indigence affidavit and have all their fees and fines waived, giving courts the ability to permit restricted licenses to allow people to drive to work, school, recovery programs and other necessities, and setting up a payment plan to pay the fees over time. For one, indigent debtors do not know whom to negotiate with the DMV, which mailed the speeding ticket, or the debt collector that now seems to be pursuing the matter. 1951) (citing In re Clifts Estate, 159 P.2d at 876), and Oklahoma, see Sommer v. Sommer, 947 P.2d 512, 519 (Okla. 1997); Lepak, 844 P.2d at 855. Where a state has chosen to ban debtors prisons, it shouldnt be able to welcome them back in surreptitiously, by grafting them onto the criminal system.164. [A]ny broadside pronouncement on their general validity would be inappropriate. Id. ^ Cf., e.g., Miss. Perhaps this pushback will resolve the concerns described above. But the spirit behind them ought to drive other constitutional actors executives, legislators, and citizens to take swift action.167. Copyright 1887-2023 Harvard Law Review. Ct. 1834); Werdenbaugh v. Reid, 20 W. Va. 588, 593, 598 (1882) (discussing Virginia and West Virginia). . But of course, funding the government is not one of the traditional purposes of penal law. ^ See generally Francis Bowes Sayre, Public Welfare Offenses, 33 Colum. At the same time, however, legal commentators have been concerned about imprisonment for criminal debt since at least the 1960s. art. And more than 30 years ago, the U.S. Supreme Court made it clear: Judges cannot send people to jail just because they are too poor to pay their court fines. This talk will explore how modern-day debtors' prisons push peoplepredominantly people of colorinto cycles of poverty, debt, and the criminal legal system and will examine promising solutions. Detail In England, debtors owing money could be easily detained by the courts for indefinite periods, being kept in debtor's prisons. . art. To the contrary, regulatory offenses became prominent within American criminal law only after the abolition of debtors prisons.131 The Court in Morissette v. United States132 identified the pilot of the [regulatory offenses] movement in such crimes as selling liquor to an habitual drunkard and selling adulterated milk, citing cases from 1849,133 1864,134 and 1865.135 A law review article published in 1933 called the steadily growing stream of offenses punishable without any criminal intent whatsoever a recent movement in criminal law,136 placing the beginnings of the trend in the middle of the nineteenth century.137 By comparison, all but a few states had enacted their bans on debtors prisons by the 1850s.138 So reading the carve-outs as unrelated to regulatory crimes is consistent with both text and original meaning. ^ See Peter J. Coleman, Debtors and Creditors in America 24956 (1974). This report details the findings of an almost year-long investigation into the ways Nebraskas criminal justice system handles fines and fees imposed on low-income Nebraskans. art. ^ Complaint, Cleveland v. Montgomery, supra note 14, at 4. 1965). F. 253, 26263 (2015); McLean, supra note 1, at 88591; Campbell Robertson, Suit Alleges Scheme in Criminal Costs Borne by New Orleanss Poor, N.Y. Times (Sept. 17, 2015), http://www.nytimes.com/2015/09/18/us/suit-alleges-scheme-in-criminal-costs-borne-by-new-orleanss-poor.html. The United States was, after all, the first major nation to get rid of debt prisons in the 1820s and 1830s and embrace "fresh starts" for bankrupts at a time when "debtors were imprisoned. But sometimes, the relevant statute explicitly tags the criminal justice debt as civil or as receiving civil protections.152, For example, in some jurisdictions, courts have held that violations of municipal ordinances constitute civil actions.153 In Kansas City v. Stricklin,154 for example, the Supreme Court of Missouri noted that these proceedings are not prosecutions for crime in a constitutional sense.155 Case law in a number of states supports this approach,156 although a fifty-state survey cannot be conducted here. ^ For an argument that awareness campaigns are more effective than litigation, see Eric Balaban, Shining a Light into Dark Corners: A Practitioners Guide to Successful Advocacy to Curb Debtors Prisons, 15 Loy. ^ Complaint, Cleveland v. Montgomery, supra note 14, at 2; see Stillman, supra note 11. at 668. at 29 (Michigan); id. But, as argued below, the state bans on debtors prisons can supplement Bearden and they may well be relevant to the inquiry under James. While the United States no longer has brick and mortar debtors' prisons, or "gaols for debtors" of private debts, the term "debtor's prison" in modern times sometimes refers to the practice of imprisoning indigent criminal defendants for matters related to either a fine or a fee imposed in criminal judgments. Below, seven frequently asked questions about the history and abolition of debtors' imprisonment, and its under-the-radar1 second act. 277 (2014). . Legal Structure of Debtors' Prisons Debtors' prisons can be seen throughout the history of Western civilization in some form or another. art. Read More. Const. ^ See Note, Civil Arrest of Fraudulent Debtors: Toward Limiting the Capias Process, 26 Rutgers L. Rev. 691, 691 (Iowa 1894). . ^ See Recent Legislation, supra note 23, at 1313 n.13. They ultimately settled. Comeback of debtors' prisons: U.S. courts revive Dickensian practice of jailing people for failing to pay legal fees United States abolished debtors' prisons in the 1830s, but more than a third of . Debtor prisons weren't formally abolished until the mid-19th Century. If the debtor fails to show up, or if the judge deems that the debtor is willfully not paying the debt, the judge may write a warrant for the debtors arrest on a charge of contempt of court. The debtor is then held in jail until he or she posts bond or pays the debt, in a process known as pay or stay.. Residents of Ferguson also suffered unconstitutional stops and arrests, see id. Another type of legal claim should be considered alongside Bearden: one based on the many state constitutional bans on debtors prisons.24 These state bans were enacted over several decades in the first half of the nineteenth century, as a backlash against imprisonment for commercial debt swept the nation. The report documents local courts that have a pattern of criminalizing poverty and perpetuating racial injustice through the unconstitutional enforcement of low-level offenses. art. ^ To be found in the state bans of Arkansas, California, Iowa, Nebraska, New Mexico, Ohio, and Tennessee. ^ Indeed, when trying to determine whether or not to read a scienter requirement into a statute, courts are guided by principles like those laid out in Morissette v. United States, 342 U.S. 246 (1952), looking to any required culpable mental state, the purpose of the statute, its connection to common law, whether or not it is regulatory in nature, whether it would be difficult to enforce with a scienter requirement, and whether the sanction is severe. At an initial pass, states with cases affirming this rule include the following: Utah, see In re Clifts Estate, 159 P.2d 872, 876 (Utah 1945), Missouri, see State ex rel. 334, 34546 (2001). 853, 855 (1973). I, 19; Pa. Const. The best evidence to date is the Department of Justices 2015 report on the Ferguson Police Department. ^ See Armstrong v. Ayres, 19 Conn. 540, 546 (1849); Johnson v. Temple, 4 Del. This tiered regulatory model thus gives each state the ability to pursue multiple legitimate ends including both punishment and subsidizing the criminal justice system so long as it doesnt discriminate in applying its own law. ^ See Tate, 401 U.S. at 400; Williams, 399 U.S. at 242 n.19. Const. at 662; see also id. . 13. In 19th Century Great Britain, more than half of all people incarcerated were there because of unpaid bills and debts. Opinion | The New Debt Prisons - The New York Times Despite arising out of a criminal proceeding, costs are cleanly distinguishable from fines, restitution, and forfeiture in their basic purpose: compensating for or subsidizing the governments marginal expenditures on criminal proceedings. A Constitutional History of Debtors' Prisons The question was, how? ^ See DOJ, Ferguson Investigation, supra note 29, at 3, 910. In October 2015, the ACLU of Washington and the ACLU filed a class-action lawsuit against Benton County in central Washington over its unconstitutional system for collecting court-imposed debts. Dist. The majority rule, often tersely stated, is that they dont.141 But at least one court has held otherwise. 1971)). . ^ See id. 556.016 (2000), repealed and replaced by Act effective Jan. 1, 2017, 2014 Mo. Mo. In 2011, the ACLU and the ACLU of Michiganfiled lawsuits challenging "pay or stay" sentencesimposed onfive peoplewho were jailed by Michigan courts for being too poor to pay court fines. Id. 939.12 (2014) (defining crime). 4; Wash. Const. Complaint, Fant v. Ferguson, supra note 48, at 53 (arguing governments may not take advantage of their position to impose unduly harsh methods of collection); Complaint, Jenkins v. Jennings, supra note 24, at 5859 (same). 479.353(2) (West, Westlaw through 2015 Veto Sess.)) L. 275 (2014). (citing Commonwealth v. Farren, 91 Mass. In 2016 the ACLU of Arkansas, the Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights Under Law and the Morrison and Foerster law firm filed a federal proposed class action lawsuit challenging a debtors prison in the City of Sherwood and Pulaski County. . As a result of the greater reliance on incarceration, says Karin Martin, a professor at John Jay College and an expert on criminal justice financial obligations, there was a dramatic increase in the number of statutes listing a prison term as a possible sentence for failure to repay criminal-justice debt3. amend. The report calls for a slate of reforms to end debtors prison practices. (4 Harr.) Courts, however, did make clear that the legislature couldnt criminalize the mere nonpayment of commercial debt as a constitutional workaround. .); see also Jerome Hall, Interrelations of Criminal Law and Torts: I, 43 Colum. . International Covenant of Civil and Political Rights. For case law, see, for example, Towsend v. State, 52 S.E. Accessibility, A Christmas Carol and Other Christmas Books, The Collapse of American Criminal Justice, Investigation of the Ferguson Police Department, Criminal Justice Debt: A Barrier to Reentry, In for a Penny: The Rise of Americas New Debtors Prisons, Office of Judicial Servs., Supreme Court of Ohio, Collection of Fines and Court Costs in Adult Trial Courts, http://www.nytimes.com/2015/09/18/us/suit-alleges-scheme-in-criminal-costs-borne-by-new-orleanss-poor.html, http://aclu-wa.org/sites/default/files/attachments/Modern%20Day%20Debtor%27s%20Prison%20Final%20(3).pdf, http://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2014/06/23/get-out-of-jail-inc, http://www.splcenter.org/sites/default/files/downloads/case/amended_complaint-_harriet_cleveland_0.pdf, http://www.splcenter.org/sites/default/files/downloads/case/exhibit_a_to_joint_settlement_agreement_-_judicial_procedures-_140912.pdf, http://equaljusticeunderlaw.org/wp/wp-content/uploads/2015/02/Complaint-Jennings-Debtors-Prisons-FILE-STAMPED.pdf, http://www.justice.gov/sites/default/files/opa/press-releases/attachments/2015/03/04/ferguson_police_department_report.pdf, https://www.hrw.org/sites/default/files/reports/us0214_ForUpload_0.pdf, http://www.brennancenter.org/sites/default/files/legacy/Fees%20and%20Fines%20FINAL.pdf, https://assets.documentcloud.org/documents/2455850/15-10-09-class-action-complaint-stamped.pdf, http://www.nytimes.com/2015/10/20/us/for-offenders-who-cant-pay-its-a-pint-of-blood-or-jail-time.html. Rev. 3, 2013), http://www.acluohio.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/04/2013_0404LetterToOhioSupremeCourtChiefJustice.pdf [http://perma.cc/R3T5-WPEL]. According to Martin, this ambiguity has grave consequences. Indeed, in People ex rel. .); Developments in the Law Policing, 128 Harv. See Permanent Injunction, Jenkins v. City of Jennings, No. Justice Douglas agreed the issue wasnt properly in front of the Court. TCH: From Debtors' Prison to Bankruptcy - LinkedIn ^ Joseph Shapiro, Measures Aimed at Keeping People Out of Jail Punish the Poor, NPR (May 24, 2014, 4:58 PM), http://www.npr.org/2014/05/24/314866421/measures-aimed-at-keeping-people-out-of-jail-punish-the-poor. Courts revive practice of jailing people for failing to pay legal fees ACLU affiliates across the country have launched campaigns exposing courts that illegally and improperly jail people too poor to pay criminal justice debt, and seeking reform through public education, advocacy, and litigation. II, 12 (No person shall be imprisoned for debt, unless upon refusal to deliver up his estate for the benefit of his creditors in such manner as shall be prescribed by law, or in cases of tort or where there is a strong presumption of fraud.); Md. 4:15-cv-00253 (E.D. 161.685(2) (1973) (omission in original)). 778, 787 n.79 (1969) (listing sources). Nearly two centuries ago, the United States formally abolished the incarceration of people who failed to pay off debts. Const. ^ The constitutional imprisonment-for-debt provisions are as follows: Ala. Const. 1983); Kansas City v. Stricklin, 428 S.W.2d 721, 72526 (Mo. Some judges will rule that the debtor is not legitimately indigent and is, instead, willfully neglecting the debt because the debtor showed up to the courtroom wearing a flashy jacket or expensive tattoos. 1892). art. Const. See id. As of October 2015, the case had survived a contentious motion to dismiss the judge had initially dismissed, then reconsidered and reinstated, two allegations of unconstitutional imprisonment for debt and was moving toward trial. As of the time of publication, Equal Justice Under Law had litigated (or is litigating) similar issues against Jennings, Missouri; Ferguson, Missouri; New Orleans, Louisiana; Jackson, Mississippi; and Rutherford County, Tennessee. ^ See, e.g., City of Fort Madison v. Bergthold, 93 N.W.2d 112, 116 (Iowa 1958); Voelkel v. City of Cincinnati, 147 N.E. Laws 941). Those who did not pay the debts so meticulously recorded by the shivering Bob Cratchit could have been thrown in prison by Scrooge part of why he was so hated and feared by his debtors. ^ For example, in 1855, Massachusetts passed a statute saying: Imprisonment for debt is hereby forever abolished in Massachusetts. Appleton, 71 Mass. In 2014, the ACLU of New Hampshire secured the release of three people imprisoned for failing to pay court-imposed fines that they simply could not afford. L. Rev. But other carve-outs for crime130 arent so clean-cut, as their purpose likely had nothing to do with regulatory offenses. Stat. III, 38 ([A] valid decree of a court . But once a monetary obligation qualifies as a debt, states have implemented the bans protections in one of two ways: First, some states have held that their bans on imprisonment for debt remove the courts ability to issue contempt orders for nonpayment of qualifying debts.116 This is the no-hearing rule. The judgment creditor may pursue execution proceedings, attempting to attach nonexempt property, say, or garnish wages. I, 21 (No person shall be imprisoned for debt arising out of or founded on contract, express or implied . http://www.aclu.org/files/assets/InForAPenny_web.pdf, http://www.npr.org/blogs/codeswitch/2015/02/08/384332798/civil-rights-attorneys-sue-ferguson-over-debtors-prisons, http://www.economist.com/news/united-states/21589903-if-you-are-poor-dont-get-caught-speeding-new-debtors-prisons, http://equaljusticeunderlaw.org/wp/wp-content/uploads/2015/02/Complaint-Ferguson-Debtors-Prison-FILE-STAMPED.pdf, http://equaljusticeunderlaw.org/wp/wp-content/uploads/2014/07/Final-Settlement-Agreement.pdf, http://equaljusticeunderlaw.org/wp/current-cases/ending-debtors-prisons/, http://www.acluohio.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/04/2013_0404LetterToOhioSupremeCourtChiefJustice.pdf, http://static.aclu-co.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/12/2012-10-10-Bender-Dailey-Wallace.pdf, http://static.aclu-co.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/02/2013-12-16-Atchison-ACLU.pdf, http://www.supremecourt.ohio.gov/Publications/JCS/finesCourtCosts.pdf, http://jurist.org/paperchase/2014/02/ohio-supreme-court-warns-judges-to-end-debtors-prisons.php, http://www.theatlantic.com/national/archive/2015/08/judges-order-overhauls-fergusons-municipal-courts/402232, http://www.courts.mo.gov/sup/index.nsf/d45a7635d4bfdb8f8625662000632638/fe656f36d6b518a886257db80081d43c. In response, the Ohio Supreme Court Chief Justice announced reforms to educate local courts on how to protect indigent defendants' rights. II, 18 (There shall be no imprisonment for debt, except in cases of fraud.). art. Read more. ^ See Telephone Interview with Douglas K. Wilson, Colo. State Pub. . 1906); Boarman v. Boarman, 556 S.E.2d 800, 80406 (W. Va. 2001); State v. Burrows, 5 P. 449, 449 (Kan. 1885); see also Thomson, supra note 103, at 364 ([T]he imprisonment is for the contempt and not for the debt. (quoting State v. Becht, 23 Minn. 411, 413 (1877))). at 66162. . This imposes direct costs on the government and further destabilizes the lives of poor people struggling to pay their debts and leave the criminal justice system behind. at 135. In addition, the ACLU asks for a "bench card" to remind judges in all courts across the state that jail is not a punishment for poverty. And other judges will consider all nonpayment to be willful, unless or until the debtor can prove that he or she has exhausted absolutely all other sources of income by quitting smoking, collecting and returning used soda cans and bottles, and asking family and friends for loans. (14 Gray) 324, 328 (1859). Feb. 8, 2015) [hereinafter Complaint, Jenkins v. Jennings], http://equaljusticeunderlaw.org/wp/wp-content/uploads/2015/02/Complaint-Jennings-Debtors-Prisons-FILE-STAMPED.pdf [http://perma.cc/LM7S-LZW2]. When did they get rid of debtors prisons? - Heimduo
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