Courts Illegally Jailing the Poor: Debtors’ Prison

It’s not a court decision, only a report but at last the question is being asked and investigated. This is in the USA but again it is fundamental principles of law. The conclusions are clear:

Courts are breaking the law by holding defendants in contempt of court for failing to pay fines without proper notice or allowing an attorney to be present, the report said. Courts are also issuing arrests warrants for people who fail to show up and pay their fines and jailing defendants who are too poor to pay, according to the report.

Court costs should be recovered through civil lawsuits, not jail time, the report said.

ARTICLE PDF download Report_ Ohio courts illegally jailing the poor – Yahoo! News

http://news.yahoo.com/report-ohio-courts-illegally-jailing-poor-224308615.html