“So just how many people are impacted by the State’s practice of unlawfully imprisoning indigent individuals who are unable to pay court ordered fees, fines and costs?”
I have heard this question a lot over the past couple of weeks, from reporters, from colleagues and from friends who have read the ACLU report about the rise of new debtors’ prisons.
Unfortunately, the state’s failure to maintain and make public records regarding the cost of collection practices (including incarceration) vs. the actual amounts collected from such practices prohibits me from giving them a complete answer.
There are, of course, certain things I can tell them. I can tell them that this unconstitutional and unfair practice, which can quickly lead to a vicious cycle of debt and imprisonment, can be triggered by the most miniscule offenses.
Just look at Kawana Young who has been jailed 5 times due to her inability to pay the costs and fees associated with traffic tickets.
I can tell them that this unconstitutional and unfair practice prevents individuals who have already fully repaid their debt to society from escaping the criminal justice system. Just look at David Sutton, whose one year probation was extended to over five years notwithstanding his completion of all the necessary requirements simply because he was unable to pay the necessary fees and fines.
And I can tell them that this unconstitutional and unfair practice leads to completely nonsensical outcomes that cannot possibly benefit the state. Just look at Selesa Likine, who the state continues to prosecute for failure to pay $1,100/month in child support even though the state’s own re-calculations indicate that the correct support order should have been only $25/month.
Perhaps most important, I can tell them how these stories, and the state’s lack of transparency, makes me feel. I hear the stories of Ms. Young, Mr. Sutton, Ms. Likine, and others and I am saddened, angered and motivated to act.
Given the state’s policies, I know that this could happen to anyone. I want to do something. And yet, without the necessary information from the state, the public (myself included) are prohibited from evaluating the problem on a system-wide basis and from creating the most effective, efficient and lawful solutions. Time and again this hurdle frustrated the efforts of ACLU staff members working on the Michigan section of the report.
Other states profiled in the report did collect and provide data regarding the costs of collection and the amount collected (indeed, these numbers revealed that incarcerating indigent defendants when they are unable to pay their legal debts actually costs states and counties much more than they can ever hope to recover).
It is time for Michigan to do the same. The public deserves the right to obtain the information that is required to hold our public officials and justice system accountable and to protect the most vulnerable members of our society.
It is time to show us the numbers.
By Jessie Rossman, ACLU of Michigan staff attorney