Roy Exum: An Answer To A Horror

  • Monday, April 11, 2016
  • Roy Exum
Roy Exum
Roy Exum

Several weeks ago there appeared a story on Chattanoogan.com that broke my heart. It was a list of a dozen or so people who owe huge amounts of fines to the Hamilton Country Criminal Court. I hardly blame Court Clerk Vince Dean for trying to collect them. That is his sworn duty. Yet I’ll bet every dime in my pocket right now that not one of the people whose names were listed has any way in the world of paying those fines. Good grief; they ranged from $99,257 to $70,676 apiece.

At a time when we’ve got record numbers of those in our community living paycheck to paycheck, I’m of the opinion the only thing the Chattanoogan.com story did (in good intent, mind you) was hold people up to further public ridicule. These people are already in a jam or they wouldn’t be tied up with Criminal Court, Mr. Einstein.

Let’s be realistic – how many people on your street could plunk down $75K on fines that grow every day in interest.

What if I told you Hamilton County and those faced with impossible fines could do something about that? What if our judges – and we’ve got great ones on every bench – could get people who are trying to live on the “up and up” out of such a deep hole? And what if Hamilton County never put another person in “debtor’s prison” again?

Ed Spillane is the presiding judge of the College Station Municipal Court in Texas (think Texas A&M) and right now he’s the president of the state association. In a marvelous story that just appeared in the Washington Post under his own byline, he claims he sees 10 to 12 misdemeanors every day that are fine-only (public drunk, shoplifting, traffic violations) and many do not have the money to pay the fine, much less get a lawyer.

Judge Spillane begins by citing a Supreme Court case (Tate vs. Short, 1971) that holds jail time is not proper punishment for fine-only cases. This is due to the 14th amendment’s equal-protection clause. But because judges are over-worked and dockets are over-stacked, often a judge will cite contempt-of-court due to inability to pay. How in the name of Mary, Joseph and the Christ child is a guy sitting in jail going to come up with cash?

Think about this:

* -- A 2014 study showed that in Benton County, Washington (pop. 175,000), a full 25 percent of those in jail were in for non-payment of fines and court fees. Think of what that costs the taxpayers.

* -- Between 2004 and 2013, the percentage of jail bookings in Tulsa, OK, tripled because prisoners can’t pay fines and court costs, going from 8 to 29 percent.

* -- Between 2005 and 2007 18 percent of those jailed in Rhode Island were in jails because of court debt, this coming at a rate of 24 people a day! That was 10 years ago – can you image what it is today?

* -- Last month the U.S. Justice Department released a letter saying putting people in jail for court debt was not only illegal but “can cast doubt on the impartiality of the tribunal and erode trust between local governments and their constituents.”

For goodness gracious -- It’s a Catch - 22. There is a woman in Ferguson, Mo. (think riots) where a woman originally had a fine of $151 plus fees after receiving two parking tickets in 2007. Since then she has been jailed for failure to pay numerous times, despite the fact she has now paid $550 in fines over the last seven years and still owes $541. (The interest rate is 12 percent … Revenue from court fees has increased over 80 percent in the last two years. No wonder people are mad.)

The Constitution holds a defendant must be allowed to argue an economic hardship but many courts don’t do it because – quite frankly – they haven’t the time and – duh! -- a poor defendant cannot hire a lawyer.

The answer is clearly alternative sentencing. Any of us would much rather see an indigent guilty of a misdemeanor performing 100 hours of community service rather than being locked up for 30 days – at taxpayer expense. In jail no one can get money and, in jail, there is nothing you can do about another month’s interest on the fine.

Judge Spillane writes, “Community service isn’t always an option. (One woman) not only couldn’t pay her fines, but she also couldn’t be away from her children at night or on weekends, since she couldn’t afford child care. So we set her up on a small payment plan, an arrangement that sometimes works for poor defendants. “

“When it later became apparent that she could not afford that, we waived the fine - but only after she took a free class on the use of child safety seats, addressing what was arguably the most concerning charge against her. She obtained a valid driver’s license and has not been to our court since,” he added.

Then there are other options. “Judges can also sentence defendants to anger-management training, classes for first-time offenders or drunk-driving-impact panels,” he wrote, “National research shows that alternative sentencing like teen court can reduce recidivism, and my time on the bench confirms this.”

One more idea: Judge Spillane writes that twice a year in Brazos County the court provides a two-week window where the $50 warrant fee is waived, that is “if the defendant comes to court to take care of his or her case. The court communicates with defendants through letters, phone calls and emails so they know their options … It’s amazing how many defendants show up once they know they won’t be immediately arrested when they step into the courtroom — we clear about 600 cases during each amnesty period.”

He concludes, “All judges want to uphold the rule of law in the communities we serve, but too often we can get lost in the day-to-day business of running a court; we ignore the consequences of what we do. An arrest can cost a citizen his or her job, dignity and security. Alternative sentencing is a way to achieve what we should all want: an end to criminal behavior.”

In my way of thinking, it is the only feasible answer we’ve got. And it is the right thing to do.

royexum@aol.com

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