Disproportionate Impact of Legal Financial Obligations: The Debt Penalty DR. ALEXES HARRIS ASSOCIATE...
-
Upload
lenard-lee -
Category
Documents
-
view
216 -
download
0
Transcript of Disproportionate Impact of Legal Financial Obligations: The Debt Penalty DR. ALEXES HARRIS ASSOCIATE...
Disproportionate Impact of Legal Financial Obligations: The Debt PenaltyDR. ALEXES HARRIS
ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR OF SOCIOLOGY
UNIVERSITY OF WASHINGTON
Outline
I. Contemporary criminal justice context
II. Monetary sanctions nationally
III. The experiences and consequences of monetary sanctions
IV. Monetary sanction sentencing, monitoring and sanctioning for non-payment
The Rise in Conviction and Incarceration1 in 100 American adults 18 years and older lives behind bars
Number of adults living with felony convictions in U.S. is 5.85 million
Racial and Ethnic Disproportionality
Characteristics of Criminal Defendants•Between 30% to 36% of defendants did not have a job prior to their arrest
•Of those working:•23% reported monthly earnings of $600 or less•50% reported $1,200 or less
“Prison time has become a normal life event for African American men who
have dropped out of high school.”
-Becky Pettit and Bruce Western 2010
Legal and Social Collateral Consequences◦Felon disenfranchisement◦Reduced income and wages ◦Difficulties for families and communities◦Housing instability◦Adverse effects on mental and physical health
Fines and Fees Fines: ◦Fixed financial penalties attached to a given offense◦WA: $1,000 drug conviction
Fees: ◦Charges for costs of using the system ◦WA - court costs = $200 , public defender = $450
Surcharges
Costs levied on top of fines and fees
AZ - 83% Surcharge◦ 47% Criminal Justice Enhancement ◦ 13% Medical Services Enhancement ◦ 10% Clean Elections ◦ 7% Fill the Gap Fund ◦ 6% DNA
Interest and Collection Fees◦FL - 4.75% interest ◦WA - 12% interest ◦GA - 7% interest◦ IL - 15% penalty on unpaid legal obligations + 30% collections fee
◦AZ - $35 fee and 19% collections fee for delinquent LFOs
Restitution◦to compensate victims, actual costs
Yes No Provisional Unknown
Impose fines and fees 100% 0% 0% 0%
Financing Fees 63% 25% 0% 12%
Public Attorney Fees 69% 29% 0% 2%
Incarceration for Non-Payment 90% 4% 0% 8%
Community Service Provision 68% 20% 4% 8%
Debtors Can Vote 41% 33% 26% 0%
Table 1. National Characteristics of U.S. State Monetary Sanction Procedure, 2013.
Source: Harris, Alexes. “A Pound of Flesh: Criminal Monetary Sanctions as a Permanent Punishment for Poor People.”
Relevant Case Law
Tate v. Short (1971) - Permits the incarceration of legal debtors if a court determines they have means to make payments and the defendant is labeled as a “willful non-payer.”
Relevant Case Law Bearden v. Georgia, (1983) – The sentencing court must find: that defendants “willfully” refuse to pay or fail to make
sufficient efforts to acquire the recourses to pay if a defendant could not pay, despite sufficient “bona
fide efforts” to do so, the trial court should consider measures other than imprisonment before incarcerating them for contempt
Relevant Case Law
Washington v. Blazina (2015) – Washington State Supreme Court decision, requires judges to explicitly consider defendants’ abilities to pay non-mandatory monetary sanctions at the time of sentencing.
Key Concepts Bona fide Effort to pay – loans from family and
friends, income, day labor jobs
Willful-non-payer – not seeking loans? Not taking illegal employment? Begging?
Indigent – Current or future ability to pay
Table 2. Example of Three-Year Accrual of Charges related to
Average Fine/Fee Ordered in Superior Court ($995)
Principal Ordered Less $20 monthly
payment
Running Interest +
Annual Surcharge
Total Debt
Sentencing Day Jan, 2010 $995 $995Owe Jan 2011 (year1) $755
$104 + $100 $959
Owe Jan 2012 (year 2) $515
$179 + $200 $894
Owe Jan 2013 (year 3) $275
$222 + $300 $797
3-Year Difference (Paid $720)
21
*$995 Is the Average fine/fee ordered in Washington State Superior Courts between 2010-2012. Total Debt includes 12% simple interest and $100 annual surcharge. Interest does not accrue on interest nor surcharge. Source: Alexes Harris, Associate Professor of sociology, University of Washington.
Consequences Financial Constraint – particularly with interest the costs increase
Accumulated disadvantage - accessing food, housing, employment, medication
“David” “If they were realistic, maybe I would try to pay it, but being $10,000 or $5,000, that’s ridiculous, you know, to even think that I’m going to be able to pay something like that, it’s unrealistic. And if they really stopped and thought about the situation that I’m coming into or going out of, they know themselves that it’s not going to be paid.”
Consequences Financial Constraint – particularly with interest the costs increase
Accumulated disadvantage - accessing food, housing, employment, medication
Family Stress – strain on relationships, difficult choices for children
“Vilma” “But one of the brothers found out that I owed some money, owed these LFOs, and he was like ‘oh, those are never going to go away, how are they ever going to own a house?’ So, they changed their mind. So more personally, that kind of hurt. I was like, ‘wow, because I’ll always have this debt’. I didn’t know what to say to that, like what do I say in my defense? I don’t know if it’s ever going to go away.”
Consequences Financial Constraint – particularly with interest the costs increase
Accumulated disadvantage - accessing food, housing, employment, medication
Family Stress – strain on relationships, difficult choices for children
Emotional Strain – frustration, anger, anxiety, disappointment