End Debtor's Prison in Delaware
Delaware's General Assembly
In 2018 alone, there were over 205,000 criminal or traffic cases filed in Delaware. Over 95% of those filings were for misdemeanor crimes or violations, petty offenses. For people with money, these small mistakes result in a slap on the wrist. However, for people without money, even the most minor of violations turns into a life sentence of debt and poverty due to fines and fees imposed by Delaware’s courts. It’s time for that system to change.
In Delaware, anytime a person is found guilty of a criminal or traffic offense, they are imposed a series of fees. These can be significant-- often turning a $50 fine into a $300 bill. Currently, Delaware Courts impose these fines without any consideration of someone’s ability to pay.
Defendants that are unable to pay their court costs then face harsh consequences. In 2017, Delaware issued 44,889 warrants for the arrest of persons solely because they had not paid court costs on non-felony offenses. In the first 6 months of 2018, Delaware sentenced 129 people to jail only because they could not pay court costs. Delaware is spending money to punish people for having no money.
The consequences do not just stop with arrests and incarceration. Delaware is one of 48 states that suspends driver’s licenses for unpaid court fines and fees. We cannot expect people to support their families, let alone pay their court debt, if we take away their ability to get to work. Suspending drivers’ licenses for lack of payment is simply self-defeating.
Five key changes can help fix the system.
Make courts analyze a person’s ability to pay before issuing fines and fees
Cease suspending drivers’ licenses for inability to pay fines and fees
Ban courts from issuing late fees for unpaid fines and fees
Make municipalities, law enforcement agencies, and the courts track and disclose how much of their budgets come from fines and fees
Create a consolidated system by which people can see how much they owe in court costs and easily make payments.
Let your legislators know that you support fines and fees reform!
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To:
Delaware's General Assembly
From:
[Your Name]
I support reforming court fines and fees, and I’m writing to tell you why and to ask that you join me.
In Delaware, anytime a person is found guilty of a criminal or traffic offense, they are imposed a series of fees. These can be significant-- often turning a $50 fine into a $300 bill. Many of the court costs are imposed for things considered fundamental. For example, defendants are imposed $100 if they are represented by a public defender-- a service the United States Supreme Court considers vital to “assur[ing] a fair trial” and that people only qualify for if they are deemed poor. If a defendant asks for a jury trial (another constitutional right), they are charged an extra $80, even if they do not actually have a trial. Currently, Delaware Courts impose these fines without any consideration of someone’s ability to pay.
Specifically, I support 5 key changes to how Delaware imposes court fines and fees, that are all included in SB39:
Make courts analyze a person’s ability to pay before issuing fines and fees
Cease suspending drivers’ licenses for inability to pay fines and fees. Ban courts from issuing late fees for unpaid fines and fees
Make municipalities, law enforcement agencies, and the courts track and disclose how much of their budgets come from fines and fees
Create a consolidated system by which people can see how much they owe in court costs and easily make payments.
It’s time that Delaware end this backwards system. The U.S. Supreme Court has held that “[t]here can be no equal justice where the kind of trial a man gets depends on the amount of money he has.” There can also be no equal justice where the kind of sentence a man gets depends on the amount of money he has. In Delaware, criminal defendants and people who commit traffic offenses can put their misdeeds behind them when they have money. However, when they are poor, they often never escape the ramifications of even the smallest blunder.