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

Contemporary Criminal Justice Context

Massive Rise in Conviction and Incarceration Rates

Figure 3 pg 9

Put in slide from pew report

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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

Monetary Sanctions Nationally

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

The Experiences and Consequences of Monetary Sanctions

Consequences Financial Constraint – particularly with interest the costs increase

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)

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*$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

Summary I. Exceptional criminal justice system

II. Monetary sanctions are a national practice

III. Variability of practices within same jurisdictions

IV. For those who are poor, monetary sanctions are anti-rehabilitative