Tennessee Supreme Court considers whether inmates with unpaid fees should be barred from suing
The Tennessee Supreme Court heard arguments Thursday about whether the state should be permitted to bar new lawsuits from prisoners with unpaid fees, according to the Tennesseean.
Inmate Reginald Hughes appealed the denial of his parole, but the appeal was dismissed because Hughes owed $258.55 in court fees. The state Court of Appeals affirmed that dismissal. His attorney, David Veile of Schell & Davies, argued that this amounts to denying Hughes access to justice because he is poor.
Tennessee Assistant Attorney General Michael Polovich countered that the law serves a constitutional purpose: preventing frivolous prisoner lawsuits that cost money to state taxpayers. Polovich also argued that Hughes has no standing to challenge the denial of his parole because parole is not a right.
Justices questioned both lawyers about the purpose of the law and the rights of inmates, the Tennesseean says. Chief Justice Sharon Lee said an inmate in Hughes’ position who has money could have filed the appeal.
“Isn’t it just a those-who-have and those-who-have-not situation?” she reportedly asked.
Justice Holly Kirby suggested that the law was meant to stop a “flood of prisoner litigation that hits the courts every single month.” She asked whether it would burden judges to investigate whether past cases from a particular prisoner had been frivolous. The story did not say whether Hughes’ past cases had been determined frivolous.
Hughes began in 1987 to serve a 60-year sentence for two counts of second-degree murder. He was denied parole in 2011.
