Thomas v. City of Gulfport
Harrison County Jail was a modern day debtors’ prison. Officers went to predominantly African American neighborhoods arbitrarily checking people to see if they had paid their court fines and fees.
Ability to Pay
Personal Narrative: Melissa Stephens
Melissa Stephens, a mother of three, was forced to move from Wichita, Kansas to Las Vegas, Nevada because of $8000 of traffic ticket debt.
Ohio Revised Code 2947.14: Hearing on ability to pay fine
This statute details the procedural protections owed to defendants in instances of nonpayment of fines and fees. It also establishes explicit limits for nonpayment incarceration.
Alabama Rules of Criminal Procedure: Rule 26.11: Fines and restitution.
This rule guides Alabama courts' decision-making processes for ordering restitution and fines, including for failure to pay.
Bearden v. Georgia
In Bearden v. Georgia, the Supreme Court held that courts may only revoke probation and/or sentence the defendant to imprisonment if the defendant willfully refused to pay.