In the latest front in the nationwide fight against debtors' prisons, on June 1, 2017, the American Civil Liberties Union filed a federal lawsuit challenging the illegal arrest and incarceration of poor people in Lexington County, South Carolina, without a hearing or representation by counsel. Victims can avoid jail only if they pay the entire amount of outstanding court fines and fees up front and in full. Indigent people who are unable to pay are incarcerated for weeks to months without ever seeing a judge, having a court hearing, or receiving help from a lawyer. The result is one of the most draconian debtors’ prisons uncovered by the ACLU since 2010.
https://www.aclu.org/cases/brown-v-lexington-county-et-al#:~:text=In%20Brown%20v.,from%20unreasonable%20searches%20and%20seizuresResource Type(s):
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Institution: American Civil Liberties Union
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