Criminal defendants are often required to pay fines as part of their punishment. Sometimes defendant's agree to these fines in order to avoid trial, which can often lead to jail time. Given that most of these defendants are poor, they often have court appointed counsel who are often overworked, ill prepared and push defendants to plead out.
So, defendants are forced to agree to take a plea to avoid jail. The problem arises when the defendant can't pay the fine. Oftentimes they are imprisoned. In some instances, they are given the opportunity to do "community service" which in reality is forced labor.
Recently, the ACLU, filed suit against Benton County, Oregon. The suit filed as a class action in Yakima County Superior Court, alleges that the practice violates the U.S. and state constitutions, which prohibit the jailing of people for not paying court-ordered fines, fees and costs without a meaningful hearing and consideration of alternatives to incarceration.
The lawsuit, is part of the long national campaign by the ACLU to combat the effect of court fines on poor defendants. In 2010, the organization published a report the examined the way court impose fines in Michigan, Ohio, Georgia, Louisiana and Washington state, noting that the fines can often compound with interest or late fees, contributing to the impoverishment of come defendants.
While punishment is supposed to hurt, and defendants should be made to pay restitution, the system should not be used to circumvent due process, or be abused to make money for an otherwise strapped court system.
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