"Sit or Pay" rulings challenged
SHEPHERDSVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) – Convicted of receiving stolen property in
2011, George Schmidt Jr. fell behind on his court-ordered restitution payments
– and that was enough for a Bullitt County judge to order Schmidt to jail,
indefinitely, until Schmidt could come up with the full $1,265 he owed.
There Schmidt sat for more than nine months until an attorney asked for his
release in February 2012, arguing that district judge Rebecca Ward's “sit or
pay” ruling was unconstitutional.
Schmidt's public defender said the judge had essentially jailed someone too
poor to pay, without a hearing or attorney, despite a ruling more than 30 years
ago by the U.S. Supreme Court outlawing the practice, which is often called
“debtor's prison.”
In fact, Bullitt County judges have for years jailed defendants indefinitely
for not paying restitution or certain court fees, according to a WDRB review of
cases.
“The Constitution guarantees that people have due process, an attorney and a
hearing -- and none of those things are being given to any of these people,”
said Jennifer Wittmeyer, director of the Bullitt County Public Defender's
office, who represented Schmidt.
....
The unconstitutional “sit or pay” cases aren't unique to Bullitt County,
said Ed Monahan, head of Kentucky's Department of Public Advocacy, which
represents defendants who cannot afford an attorney.
“It is a big problem in Kentucky,” he said in an e-mail. “Poor people are being
locked up for not paying when there has been no willful refusal to pay.”
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