01/08/2025
IF ANY OF MY ATTORNEY FRIENDS READ THIS AND IM WRONG, TELL ME
But I get calls about this daily. Fines and fees and jail.
IM NOT A LAWYER AND THIS ISNT REAL LEGAL ADVISE. But I’m not stupid either, I can look up the same information as lawyers can, you can too. Facebook and social media sites ARE NOT Legal sources.
Lawyers primarily use legal databases like LexisNexis and Westlaw to look up laws and case laws, which provide access to both federal and state statutes, regulations, and court opinions across various jurisdictions; other options include Bloomberg Law, Justia for free resources, and Google Scholar for case law research with filtering capabilities by jurisdiction.
With all that being said. READ THIS.
If you owe city or county fines.
Yes, Alabama courts can jail you for not paying fines in some cases, but only if the court determines that the nonpayment was willful:
BUT:: No, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in 1983 that a person cannot be jailed for not paying a fine if they are unable to do so. The Supreme Court's ruling in Bearden v. Georgia states that it violates due process principles to imprison someone for not paying a fine they can't afford.
However, there is an exception to this rule: if a defendant willfully refuses to pay a fine when they have the resources to do so, the state can use imprisonment as a sanction.
Judges are typically responsible for deciding if a defendant is unable or unwilling to pay a fine. Defendants can present evidence to the judge, such as their income, household expenses, and dependency expenses, to convince the judge they are unable to pay.
It is illegal to imprison a person because they are too poor to pay a fine. Despite Supreme Court rulings that ban debtor's prisons, hundreds of people are jailed each year in Alabama because they are unable to pay court fees and fines. The court must hold a hearing to determine if the defendant was able to pay but chose not to.
The length of incarceration is limited to one day for every $15 of the fine, up to a maximum of one year for felony fines. For misdemeanor or municipal ordinance violations, the maximum incarceration is one-third of the maximum term for the offense.
However, the government cannot imprison someone solely because they are unable to pay a fine or fee. Alabama has no process for courts to determine if a defendant can afford to pay. Some say that Alabama's court fees and fines system is especially problematic because it disproportionately affects people who are already struggling with poverty.
If you or someone you know is in trouble for failure to pay fines, YOU SHOULD CONSULT A LAWYER, I’m not one
