fines are only a punishment for the poor

1. We do know some things about the history of the phrase cruel and unusual punishments. In 1689 a full century before the ratification of the United States Constitution England adopted a Bill of Rights that prohibited cruell and unusuall punishments. In 1776, George Mason included a prohibition of cruel and unusual punishments in the Declaration of Rights he drafted for the Commonwealth of Virginia. For example, Abraham Holmes argued that Congress might repeat the abuses of that diabolical institution, the Inquisition, and start imposing torture on those convicted of federal crimes: They are nowhere restrained from inventing the most cruel and unheard-of punishments, and annexing them to crimes; and there is no constitutional check on them, but that racks and gibbets may be amongst the most mild instruments of their discipline. Patrick Henry asserted, even more pointedly than Holmes, that the lack of a prohibition of cruel and unusual punishments meant that Congress could use punishment as a tool of oppression: Congress . So there's a direct relationship to how this debt can impact negatively people's ability to access employment. Here are suggestions of what you can do to make a difference on these issues: Watch the Criminalizing Poverty webinar, available at no cost, and reach out to the speakers. Spotlight on the Juvenile Justice System I started by asking her how much she realized then about the impact of LFOs on her clients, especially because, as she explained, most of them were too poor to pay just about any fine a court might set.Judge Linda COBURN:I would always make an argument for the courts to not impose any mandatory fines and fees. But, you know what, for some LFOs, that may not matter. First, the task force identified the types of civil and criminal court assessments present in Illinois circuit courts, from filing to mandatory arbitration fees. So what's supposed to happen if someone has this debt, they're not making payments, the court should summon them to court. How much are you spending on collections and sanctioning for non-payment? Burr ran for governor of New York and Hamilton widely considered the most influential founding father of the United States opposed his candidacy, making public remarks that Burr found insulting. There are also a number of best practices in litigation and legislation emerging from Washington. Major criminal justice reforms such as removing mandatory fines, providing relief for poor defendants and assessing the ability to pay would go far in correcting a criminal justice system that punishes low-income people, a Rutgers University-New Brunswick study finds. . Since flogging, branding, and various forms of bodily mutilation were permissible in the Eighteenth Century, few modern forms of punishment are likely to fall into this category. Surcharges for court and non-court-related costs. Penalties include point deductions of 75-120 points, deductions of 10-25 playoff points, the suspension of one or two crew members for four-to-six races and fines between $100,000 and $250,000. Specifically, the Fifth Amendment commands that No person shall be held to answer for a capital . nor be deprived of life . Fines and fees are a pound of flesh for poor people Finally, are some modern methods of punishment such as the extended use of solitary confinement, or the use of a three-drug cocktail to execute offenders sufficiently barbaric to violate the Eighth Amendment? Russian forces have been trying for 10 months to punch their way into the . (2) The Clause prohibits disproportionate punishments as well as barbaric methods of punishment. Then there are the fees collected at almost every step of the process. To counter that, she has helped develop an online "ability-to-pay" calculator. If a court were to find that their effect is significantly harsher than the longstanding punishment practices they have replaced, it could appropriately find them cruel and unusual. crime, unless on a presentment or indictment of a Grand Jury . I feel that it's extremely exciting that states now hopefully will start thinking about, "What does excessive mean?" Fines and fees are capturing millions of Americans in a cycle of poverty and justice-involvement, and today well talk to two people, who are both working to lessen their impact. There are many different terms used interchangeably across the countrysuch as monetary sanctions, legal financial obligations (LFOs), and assessments (e.g., in Illinois)to describe the different fines, fees, and costs associated with offenses and the courts. And then people can be sentenced up to 60 days; one jurisdiction had a $300 pay-or-stay. In other words, a common punishment might be more cruel than a rare one: For example, it would be more cruel to commit torture on a mass scale than on rare occasions, not less. Throughout its history, the Court has ruled that certain practices are unconstitutional or indecent even when such practices were popular. A prosecutor told me he asks people who tell him that they can't make payments, "Do you smoke cigarettes? This does not mean that any punishment that was once part of our tradition can still be used today. But in California, eliminating juvenile fines and fees is an amazing step forward in recognizing that people who can't work can't pay back this debt. Share this via LinkedIn In many other countries around the world, they find systems, and under those systems, their offense has a score, a number associated with the offense that they're convicted of. Today's penalties are far less severe: fines, community penalties, imprisonment. So when I was doing my research, I saw judges ask about women's manicures. Share this via Email So for example, in New York, doesn't allow the private profiting off of collect calls anymore from prisons. The best way to understand this is to run through those four questions once again, using our new understanding of the original meaning of the Clause: (1) The appropriate benchmark for determining whether a punishment is cruel and unusual is neither the subjective feelings of the current Supreme Court nor the outdated standards of 1791. Please give now to support our work. How Do LFOs Affect People Who Are Unable to Pay? All rights reserved. It argues that the Constitution should be interpreted in accordance with its original public meaning, and it demonstrates what effect such an interpretation would have in the real world. Ukraine war latest: Boy, 6, cries as sister killed in Russian attack Ferguson court revenues increased tremendously from $1.38 million in 2010 to the budgeted $3.09 million in 2015 that the city was on track to meet before Michael Brown was shot. "How much did you spend on that?" And people wonder why we don't have debtor's prisons. He describes how cities are jailing or fining the poorest people for offenses rooted in their homeless status, saying he observed aggressive enforcement of this kind in Los Angeles and San Francisco. Can you waive it? Jessica Feierman explained how the Juvenile Law Center kept hearing stories from its clients about all the different costs, fines, and fees involved, so the center took the time to do a 50-state statutory review to get a sense of the problem nationally and to look at what can be done. Alameda County in California found no benefit to the county of juvenile courts fees, which helped the county pass a moratorium on these fees. Neither the Constitutions Framers nor the document they created was flawless. He is in his mid-50s, has children to take care of, and is trying to find other ways to pay. Share this via Reddit . Annual collection fees are assessed first. Theres a link to the ability-to-pay calculator she helped design on our website. The task force issued a report with findings and recommendations for the civil and criminal sides and several different audiences. I didnt want her to see her son being in the situation he was in. If a crime is punished by a fine, is it only a law for poor people The state courts denied his petition for habeas corpus. Fines and fees are capturing millions of Americans in a cycle of poverty and justice-involvement, and on this episode of New Thinking, host Matt Watkins talks to two people working to interrupt that cycle. Dr. Harriss research found that Ferguson is actually not an outlier. And then, how much are you generating to put back into your local government?" Criminalizing Poverty Through Fines, Fees, and Costs So states are moving forward by eliminating discretionary fines and fees or things like that. Proponents of the death penalty argue that some people have committed such atrocious crimes that they deserve death, and that the death penalty may deter others from committing atrocious crimes. When it comes to LFOs, we do not seem to have an appreciation for the serious impact that poverty has on a person and his or her ability to meet an LFO. To supplement the 50-state statutory review and get a sense of what was really happening on the ground, JLC surveyed 180 individuals in 41 states. They make a paymentparticularly because of the interest, and hopefully this will change in the next couple years, we'll see itbut particularly because of the interest and the additional surcharge for collections, people say, "I make a $20 payment. In advance of the special rapporteurs report, CJPP and Human Rights Watch submitted testimony to him describing how fees and fines and money bail create a two-tiered system of justice and keep people trapped in poverty. So we've always had fines associated with our criminal justice system since its inception, but this is a more recent phenomenon, that it seems that our policy makers have been saying, Oh, we can't afford what we're doing. If a once-traditional punishment falls out of usage for several generations, it becomes unusual. In addition, they discussed the best practices and reform possibilities emerging from this research and these jurisdictions. Next, they analyzed data from across the state and made four findings: (1) costs are increasingly passed on to court users; (2) assessments are constantly increasing and outpacing inflation; (3) there is extreme diversity in assessment amounts from one county to another (e.g., driving under the influence conviction assessments: $327 in Knox County but $1742 in McLean County); and (4) low- and moderate-income Illinois residents are severely and disproportionately affected. For their help with this episode Id like to thank two of my colleagues here: Yolaine Menyard and Katie Crank, along with Lindsey Smith at Brooklyn Defender Services. 100% of our general fund is going to be towards criminal justice cost. I think they see their one particular role, so I think you're right, judges sentence. They also point out that the punishment is authorized in a majority of states, and public opinion polls continue to show broad support for it. Should it look to the standards of 1791, when the Eighth Amendment was adopted? Fines - Sentencing And then my question is, "How long do people have to express their remorse for what they've done?" JLC found that the practices were widespread. If it fell out of usage for multiple generations, however, it might become cruel and unusual. Even the US most widely used alternative to money bail concerns Alston, who warns that pretrial risk assessment tools that rely on formulas may replicate existing societal racial and class biases, but project a false veneer of objectivity. Allen explained that, in the state of Washington, as in other states, restitution is an LFO that is part of the actual judgment, and for felony offenses, restitution is mandatory. Restitution is almost impossible to undo and will never expire. Answer (1 of 5): It depends : Does the offense and conviction carry other slightly less tangible impacts, such as a police/criminal record that must be disclosed or negative points on a license for example. The DOJ released a Dear Colleague letter on March 14, 2016, clarifying that, based on Bearden v. Georgia, courts must determine whether a person can pay before imprisoning them for fines. "Our findings show that the laws on the books are rooted in . JLC reached out especially to families to collect stories about what happens to young people and their families as a result of LFOs. Living in poverty is punishment itself | Centre for Crime and Justice Im Matt Watkins. In particular, authorities should not rely on fines and fees to pay for government programs because they disproportionately hurt the poor. Also, having a better understanding of this person's going to take five years to pay off what I'm considering imposing, eight years to pay off, four years to pay off, whatever it may be, and is that what I intended? The debates that occurred while the states were deciding whether to ratify the Constitution shed some light on the meaning of the Cruel and Unusual Punishments Clause, because they show why many people thought this Clause was needed. Recent Findings and Emerging Best Practices: Illinois; Ferguson, Missouri; Washington However, other judges felt that this was part of breaking the law, that you do the time, you pay the crime, whatever it is. During the program, the panelists highlighted the new findings from Illinois, Ferguson, and Washington to give specific examples of LFOs and their effects. Across the US, almost half a million presumptively innocent people sit in jail daily because they cannot afford bail. The Illinois report recommends the following five core principles: Courts should be funded from general government revenue, not user taxes. These can take up to 25 percent of a persons income and can take away from money needed for basic living expenses, particularly for someone already living in poverty. . In some instances, what would happen if somebody said, "Well, I'm on food stamps now," and courts would say, "All right, but you could get a job tomorrow, so therefore I'm not finding you indigent." In 2020, Equifax was made to pay further settlements relating to the breach: $7.75 million (plus $2 million in legal fees) to financial institutions in the US plus $18.2 million and $19.5 million . In the United States, many jurisdictions rely on fees and fines for revenue for the criminal justice system and for other programs, said Mitali Nagrecha, director of the National Criminal Justice Debt Initiative at CJPP. When I did the math for her, she was stunned. Government . How can we decrease the costs? And instead of thinking outside the box and saying, Well, how can we decrease the numbers of people we're bringing in? They're saying, Well, let's just charge the people we're bringing in," without logically thinking that through, and recognizing that they have a population that is severely hindered in their ability to be successful in society. In order to really figure this out, we have to have jurisdictions that are willing to open their books and help us understand, "How much are you really recovering? The Eighth Amendment to the United States Constitution states: Excessive bail shall not be required, nor excessive fines imposed, nor cruel and unusual punishments inflicted. This amendment prohibits the federal government from imposing unduly harsh penalties on criminal defendants, either as the price for obtaining pretrial release or as punishment for crime after conviction. Monetary sanctions reduce family income and create long-term debt. There should be periodic review of assessments. A defendant cannot be incarcerated unless the failure to pay is willful. But, as Allen noted, the interpretation of concepts like willfulness and indigence are inconsistent, and so this results in indigent people being incarcerated for failure to pay.. Your vagina shortens and narrows with age. Alexes Harris, the second guest of the episode, is a professor of sociology at the University of Washington and the author of the 2016 book, A Pound of Flesh: Monetary Sanctions as Punishment for the Poor, a detailed study of fines and fees practices in Washington State. Examples are a discretionary $1,000 drug conviction LFO for a first conviction and $2,000 for a second conviction (Washington). Share this via Telegram On June 20, 2016, a distinguished panel of experts discussed how fines, fees, and costs in our justice system are criminalizing poverty by burying people unable to pay under ever-growing mountains of debt and imposing on the poor more severe punishments for failure to pay. No, and it's not always because it's out of being stubborn or willful, but out of the facts and circumstances of their case: the long term mental health issues that they have, the substance abuse issues that they're struggling with and trying to deal with, the fact that they're homeless and they have no place to live or struggling to figure out when their next meal is. I literally was in a hearing and saw a judge ask a woman about her tattoos. Once in collections, a 23 percent interest was added, so that LFO is now over $1,600. We do not have dedicated funding for our court systems. The second LFO was $500 and became $1,319 before it was sent to collections in 2012. Though Texas law provides only for fines for such offenses, it requires that persons unable to pay must be incarcerated for sufficient time to satisfy their fines, at the rate of $5 per day, which, in petitioner's case, meant an 85-day term. It just slowly becomes a permanent punishment for people who are poor in our society.WATKINS:Yeah, I've seen, I think, the family of a young man who was assessed with all kinds of fines and fees describe it as, "Feeling like you're drowning in a swimming pool, and they just keep adding more water over top of your head. That sort of standard varies from judge to judge, in terms of how it's interpreted. But every month, it just gets bigger and bigger." Justices Scalia and Thomas argue that the four questions raised above should be answered as follows: (1) The standards of cruelty that prevailed in 1791, the year the Eighth Amendment was adopted, provide the appropriate benchmark for determining whether a punishment is cruel and unusual. It also allows a judge to enter in a defendant's financial information, so that people are not being set amounts that will trail them for years. The DOJ found disparate impact motivated by racial bias. It depends : Is the fine based on ability to pay. If the federal government tried to bring back the rack, or thumbscrews, or gibbets as instruments of punishment, such efforts would pretty clearly violate the Eighth Amendment. You have to pay to apply to have a public defender. And I definitely saw it in the work that I did in my book, that it impacted peoples ability to find housingsecure, safe housingto get access to vehicles or loans, things like that. Bring constitutional challenges and use the DOJs Dear Colleague letter. Then there are the fees collected at almost every step of the process. Bains noted that the court routinely imposed excessive fines and ordered the arrest of low-income residents for failure to appear or to make payments, sometimes despite inadequate notice and also without inquiring into their ability to pay. And so even though you had clients who want to please the court and say, "I can make payments of $50 a month or $25 a month," you don't necessarily really understand in their circumstances what they're giving up in order to do that, or how long it's going to take them to actually pay off the LFOs and what implications that that may mean.WATKINS: What would you say then that you are understanding now better, and how did you come to that understanding? What is the origin of the quote "If the penalty for a crime is a fine JLC is still determining how many states have such a cost. Cost of care (45 states). And that is the amount of money that is supposed to be directly paid towards my victim. Fines are intended to deter crime, punish offenders, and compensate victims for losses. In response to a growing national concern over LFO issues, the DOJ convened, on December 2, 2015, a diverse group of court administrators, judges, lawmakers, affected individuals, and others. It just makes no sense intuitively whatsoever in terms of generating money for local jurisdictions, and in terms of creating public safety, and in terms of supporting individuals who have done a wrong to society, have paid their sentence, in terms of spending time in jails and prisons, and having that conviction on their record, not allowing them to move forward in their lives to be successful citizens. Continue your representation in post-sentencing. such as fines or restitution.

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