BOSTON (AP) — A practice by Massachusetts district court judges of jailing defendants solely for their failure to pay court fines or fees is drawing scrutiny from state lawmakers.
A report released Monday identified 105 instances when defendants were jailed for so-called “fine time” in 2015 in three Massachusetts counties. The report says that in 60 percent of those cases, the defendant had at some point been identified as indigent.
Some of the common costs imposed on defendants include: a fee for a court-appointed lawyer, a fine if a defendant is found guilty of the underlying crime, and a monthly supervision fee if a defendant is put on probation.
State Sen. Mike Barrett says the state needs to lower the charges and come up with alternative sources of revenue for courts and corrections.
- Posted November 08, 2016
- Tweet This | Share on Facebook
Jailing defendants for failing to pay district court fines criticized
headlines Macomb
- Macomb County Meals on Wheels in urgent need of volunteers ahead of holiday season
- MDHHS hosting three, free virtual baby showers in November and December for new or expecting families
- MDHHS secures nearly 100 new juvenile justice placements through partnerships with local communities and providers
- MDHHS seeking proposals for student internship stipend program to enhance behavioral health workforce
- ABA webinar November 30 to explore the state of civil legal aid in America
headlines National
- This Is the Moment
- ACLU and BigLaw firm use ‘Orange is the New Black’ in hashtag effort to promote NY jail reform
- BigLaw partner won’t charge his $3,250 hourly rate to defend New Jersey cities in Trump administration suits
- After second federal judge withdraws error-riddled ruling, litigants seek explanation
- 5 hallucinated cases lead federal judge to kick 3 Butler Snow lawyers off case
- Bondi files ethics complaint against federal judge who reportedly expressed concern about ‘constitutional crisis’
