In 1833, Congress banned "debtors' prisons" — jails for people too poor to pay court fines and fees.
The U.S. Supreme Court ruled them unconstitutional in 1983, stating that judges have to first determine if the defendant can pay but "willfully refuse."
In July, Georgia adopted a law intended to embolden courts to fully assess a defendant’s ability to pay fines.
Yet, "debtors' prisons" persist in some parts of the state.
A video taken in Bowdon Municipal Court reveals a judge threatening to jail traffic violators who could not immediately pay fines, as reported by the New York Times.
“You’re going to have to figure out a way to get this paid, do you understand me? Or you’re going to go to jail. One or the other. You understand?” Judge Richard A. Diment tells a man who claims that he is unemployed.
The Southern Center for Human Rights also observed additional court sessions in which Diment insisted that defendants immediately pay fines of as little as $20 and as much as $1,000.
According to Sarah Geraghty, a lawyer with the Southern Center for Human Rights, Diment's practices are not unique.
The Center filed a class-action lawsuit Tuesday against Calhoun, Georgia on behalf of people charged with minor crimes and jailed because they could not pay the bond.
At the center of the lawsuit is Maurice Walker, who was arrested for public intoxication.
Walker suffers from schizophrenia, and his sole income is $530 in monthly disability payments, according to the suit. He will not be released until he pays a $160 bond.
"No human being should be kept in jail for any amount of time solely because of his or her poverty," said Alec Karakatsanis, an attorney at Equal Justice Under Law, who is also representing the suit.
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