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Contempt of Court or Debtor's Prison?
Although the United States formally ended the practice of imprisioning citizens for failure to pay debts in 1833 that practice is still alive and well and in full use today. Being poor in Oregon today and unable to pay fines ordered by the court is in itself a crime. The judicial system is fully aware of the illegality of the debtor's prison concept. They get around the law by calling failure to pay fines, essentially a debt owed to the court or state, Contempt of Court and issuing an arrest warrant if you do not pay. Non-criminal infractions are different than a criminal citation. In a non-criminal infraction you can be mandated to work off your fines through approved community service or public service. Criminal citations cannot normally be settled by community service. In a criminal citation you do not have bargaining power. Even in non-criminal citations you will have to ask to substitute community service for money. The court won't ordinarily offer you the option of working off your fines, etc. because they want the money. Basically any fines except those levied by the court for criminal activities can be converted to community or public service work to satisfy the obligation. Here is a likely scenario you might encounter when the court assesses a fine and what they often do when you are too poor to pay.
The Court: So we are here today for you to explain what you are going to do to pay this off.
Mr. Jones: I can't pay your Honor.
The Court: Okay, but you are going to.
Mr. Jones: But your Honor I can't do it.
The Court: Okay, Mr. Jones.....For some reason we are not communicating alright? You are not hearing me for some reason. I am telling you that, yes, you will pay the fine. You are going to tell me how you're going to go about doing that. And I'm not going to accept I cannot. If the next words out of your mouth are I cannot, Mr. Jones, then you will set in the Sheriffs Jail until you find a way that, yes, you can. So what kind of payments can you make to pay this down?
Mr. Jones: Five dollars ($5.00) a month. That's all I can afford your Honor........... I live on social security disability and after I pay my rent/utilities and food for survival I don't have a nickel left over. (Or in other instances I don't have a job, I have no means of income, I am homeless, etc.).
The Court: I'm going to order you pay twenty-five dollars ($25.00) a month until this is paid off. I'm going to show that we are to come back March 12, at 1 o'clock, at which time the clerk is going to tell me that she has already received fifty dollars ($50.00) towards this.
You leave the court hearing assured that you will sit in a jail cell until your debt is paid. Do you have any recourse? Maybe. It depends on how willing you are to stand up and defend yourself. Ask yourself this question. What do you have to lose by standing up to defend yourself against this kind of injustice? You are threatened with lockup anyway. If you lose you haven't lost anything.The court could order you to work your fines off picking up trash along the road with the sheriff's inmate crews or working on the courthouse lawns, etc. This kind of sanction is perfectly legal and fitting. What the court cannot do is throw you in jail for non-payment if you truly cannot pay. Keep in mind you don't and will likely never have a legitimate excuse for breaking the law in the first place. You need to pay for your crime/infraction whether petty or not. The court has a long and successful history collecting fines and are experts in spotting your lame attempts to scam your way out of paying.
The Oregon State Constitution states: ARTICLE I BILL OF RIGHTS Section 19. Imprisonment for debt. There shall be no imprisonment for debt, except in case of fraud or absconding debtors. ORS 161.685 (5) says: "If it appears to the satisfaction of the court that the default in the payment of a fine or restitution is not contempt, the court may enter an order allowing the defendant additional time for payment, reducing the amount of the payment or installments due on the payment, or revoking the fine or order of restitution in whole or in part".
Black's Law Dictionary defines absconding debtor as one who absconds from creditors to avoid payment of debts. A debtor who has intentionally concealed himself or herself from creditors, or withdrawn from the reach of their suits, with intent to frustrate their just demands can be imprisoned. A person who moves out of the state may be an absconding debtor if it is that person's intention to avoid paying money that he or she owes. Black's Law Dictionary defines fraud as a knowing misrepresentation of the truth or concealment of a material fact to induce another to act to his or her detriment. You can easily see why you can and should go to jail in these instances if you do not pay your fines/debt.
The supreme court of Oregon has found that in a criminal court where you have been provided with "court appointed counsel"; Oregon's system for providing counsel quite clearly does not deprive any defendant of the legal assistance necessary to meet these needs. As the State Court of Appeals observed in this case, an indigent is entitled to free counsel "when he/she needs it" -- that is, during every stage of the criminal proceedings against them. 12 Ore.App. at 1515, 504 P.2d at 136. The fact that an indigent who accepts state-appointed legal representation knows that he might someday be required to repay the costs of these services in no way affects his eligibility to obtain counsel.
Oregon's statutes are carefully designed to insure that only those who actually become capable of repaying the State will ever be obliged to do so. Those who remain indigent or for whom repayment would work "manifest hardship" are forever exempt from any obligation to repay. A defendant in a criminal case who is just above the line separating the indigent from the nonindigent must borrow money, sell off his meager assets, or call upon his family or friends in order to hire a lawyer. We cannot say that the Constitution requires that those only slightly poorer must remain forever immune from any obligation to shoulder the expenses of their legal defense, even when they are able to pay without hardship. Manifest Hardship is where a person who has been ordered to pay costs and it appears to the satisfaction of the court that payment of the amount due will impose manifest hardship on the person ordered to repay or on the immediate family of the person, the court may remit all or part of the amount due or modify the method of payment.
Documents you will need to file with the court for a MOTION TO SET ASIDE OBLIGATIONS TO PAY COURT FINES DUE TO MANIFEST HARDSHIP will look similar to doc1, doc2, doc3, doc4, doc5, doc6, and doc7. Document 8 and document 9 are just for your information as an example how to fill out the fee waiver documents, and what the final order signed by the judge might look.
ALL DOCUMENTS NEEDED TO FILE A MOTION TO SET ASIDE OBLIGATIONS TO PAY COURT FINES DUE TO MANIFEST HARDSHIP WITH INSTRUCTIONS
To make this legal process clearer you must research the legal material and decide for yourself if you are going to stand on your feet or live on your knees (Click here).
For those who have the means to pay you can take advantage of the opportunities afforded you by honest taxpayer money and go to school. Pell Grants (money you never have to repay if you comply with the rules) are available and any legitimate learning institution will help you get grants if you qualify. Use your brain for something besides stupid for a change. (Click Here).
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