ACLU lawsuit says county is jailing people who can't afford to pay fines
The American Civil Liberties Union is suing a county in Washington state, asserting that it is forcing people who can’t afford to pay their court fines to either go to jail or labor on work crews.
The lawsuit against Benton County is part of the ACLU’s national campaign to combat the effect of court fines on poor people, the Associated Press reports.
The suit, filed as a class action in Yakima County Superior Court, alleges that the practice violates the U.S. and state constitutions, which prohibit the jailing of people for not paying court-ordered fines, fees and costs without a meaningful hearing and consideration of alternatives to incarceration.
The ACLU has long maintained that Benton County District Court judges penalize defendants without investigating whether they can afford to pay their fines. It detailed the practice in a report last year that one judge to exception to at the time.
“The misnomer is that we’re imposing jail time without any due process rights,” Judge Joseph M. Burrowes said then. “We are following the law. We are doing what is just and fair.”
Court officials could not be reached for comment on the suit, the AP says. But Benton County Prosecutor Andy Miller said he told judges and county commissioners two years ago that he opposes the practice.
“The judges do it, and there’s not even a prosecutor in the courtroom,” he said.
County Commissioner James Beaver said he warned judges more than a year ago they were going to get sued.
“They politely told me I don’t have statutory authority to tell them what to do,” he said.
