TEHRAN, August 7 -A federal judge in New Orleans on Friday said it is unconstitutional to incarcerate people who owe fines due to criminal convictions without giving them a chance to plead poverty in a "neutral forum."
TEHRAN, Young Journalists Club (YJC) -A federal judge in New Orleans on Friday said it is unconstitutional to incarcerate people who owe fines due to criminal convictions without giving them a chance to plead poverty in a "neutral forum."
The ruling by U.S. District Judge Sarah Vance gives a definitive answer to the constitutionality of "debtors' prison" in New Orleans, which had been the subject of a three-year lawsuit filed against 13 Orleans Parish Criminal District Court judges by people who had been jailed for outstanding fines, The New Orleans Advocate reported.
"The undisputed evidence in this case establishes that the Judges have a policy or practice of not inquiring into criminal defendants' ability to pay before those individuals are imprisoned for nonpayment of court debts," Vance wrote in a 35-page ruling.
Vance also said it is unconstitutional under the 14th Amendment for judges to order people to pay monies that the court itself will spend. Some of the proceeds of court fines and fees go directly into the Judicial Expense Fund, which garners up to $1 million er year to pay for judges' expenses.
Source: UPI
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