Post by pavel on Jan 16, 2016 0:49:54 GMT -6
The city of Amarillo has been named a defendant in a civil lawsuit filed in federal court that claims the city’s practice of jailing those who cannot pay municipal fines is unconstitutional.
The class action suit, filed Thursday by Amarillo attorneys Chris Hoffman and Jeff Blackburn, claims the policy of jailing a person solely because he or she is unable to pay misdemeanor fines, such as those associated with traffic tickets, without first considering the ability to pay the fines and considering alternative methods of punishment constitutes a violation of the Fourteenth Amendment.
The lawsuit refers to the policy as “pay or lay,” a practice that was deemed unconstitutional by the Supreme Court in 1971.
City spokeswoman Sonja Gross said she had not heard about the case and declined to comment. Gross said the city does not comment on pending litigation.
Read more: amarillo.com/news/crime-and-courts/2016-01-15/city-sued-over-municipal-fines-policy
The class action suit, filed Thursday by Amarillo attorneys Chris Hoffman and Jeff Blackburn, claims the policy of jailing a person solely because he or she is unable to pay misdemeanor fines, such as those associated with traffic tickets, without first considering the ability to pay the fines and considering alternative methods of punishment constitutes a violation of the Fourteenth Amendment.
The lawsuit refers to the policy as “pay or lay,” a practice that was deemed unconstitutional by the Supreme Court in 1971.
City spokeswoman Sonja Gross said she had not heard about the case and declined to comment. Gross said the city does not comment on pending litigation.
Read more: amarillo.com/news/crime-and-courts/2016-01-15/city-sued-over-municipal-fines-policy