THOSE FEES FOR GETTING BUSTED

Like those add-on fees the airlines are now charging, the courts are adding a load of fees onto the backs of those busted, but unlike airline passengers, many of the people who get arrested are too poor to pay those fees

Here are some excerpts from “As Court Fees Rise, The Poor Are Paying The Price,” an article by Joseph Shapiro that was published by NPR on May 19:

A state-by-state survey conducted by NPR found that defendants are charged for many government services that were once free, including those that are constitutionally required. For example:

__In at least 43 states and the District of Columbia, defendants can be billed for a public defender.

__In at least 41 states, inmates can be charged room and board for jail and prison stays.

__In at least 44 states, offenders can get billed for their own probation and parole supervision.

__And in all states except Hawaii, and the District of Columbia, there's a fee for the electronic monitoring devices defendants and offenders are ordered to wear.

These fees — which can add up to hundreds or even thousands of dollars — get charged at every step of the system, from the courtroom, to jail, to probation. Defendants and offenders pay for their own arrest warrants, their court-ordered drug and alcohol-abuse treatment and to have their DNA samples collected. They are billed when courts need to modernize their computers. In Washington state, for example, they even get charged a fee for a jury trial — with a 12-person jury costing $250, twice the fee for a six-person jury.

It gets even better:

Courts usually offer alternatives to paying fees, like doing community service. But sometimes there's a cost with that, too. Jayne Fuentes, in Benton County, Wash., went on the county work crew to pay off her fines — only there was a $5-a-day charge, which she had to borrow from her daughter.

Having to pay a fee for doing community service work? They’ve gotta be kidding … only they’re not.

Anyone who knows me knows that I am a hardliner when it comes to crime and criminals. But I am also a realist. If some wealthy person gets busted, I don’t care if the courts pile the national debt on him, but the poor?

Shapiro notes:

Many fees can be waived for indigent defendants, but judges are more likely to put the poor on a more manageable payment plan.

Courts, however, will then sometimes tack on extra fees, penalties for missed payments and may even charge interest.

In Washington state, for example, there's 12 percent interest on costs in felony cases that accrues from the moment of judgment until all fines, fees, restitution and interest are paid off in full. As a result, it can be hard for someone who's poor to make that debt ever go away. One state commission found that the average amount in felony cases adds up to $2,500. If someone paid a typical amount — $10 a month — and never missed a payment, his debt would keep growing. After four years of faithful payments, the person would now owe $3,000.

I suspect the vast majority of people that get arrested are not well off and quite a few of them are downright poor. In some jurisdictions, the poor are given the choice of taking money they need to clothe, shelter and feed themselves and family members in order to pay those fees, or go to/stay in jail.

I realize that our courts, jails and prisons are a tremendous burden on the taxpayers, but I doubt that the interests of justice are served by these fees. And in some cases, those owing the fees will burglarize or rob more victims to pay them off, thereby further burdening the taxpayers.

The airlines must have looked at the criminal justice system and said, ‘Hey just look at the fees they’re adding on, why can’t we do the same?’ And they did! And even though most airline passengers can afford to pay them, they’re screaming that those fees are unjust.