SB39 Alabama 2017 Session

Summary

Primary Sponsor

Hank Sanders

Democrat

Session

Regular Session 2017

Title

Courts, enforcement of fine and court costs payment, constitutional safeguards

Description

This bill would require all circuit, district, and municipal courts in the state to consider alternatives to incarceration for defendants unable to pay fines or court fees, to provide notice when enforcing fines and court fees, and to safeguard against unconstitutional practices by court staff and private contractors.

This bill would also prohibit the courts from incarcerating a person for nonpayment of fines or court fees without first conducting an indigency determination and establishing that the failure to pay was willful; from conditioning access to a judicial hearing on the prepayment of fines or court fees; from using arrest warrants or driver's license suspension as a means of coercing the payment of court debt when individuals have not been afforded constitutionally adequate procedural protections; and from employing bail or bond practices that cause defendants to remain incarcerated solely because they cannot afford to pay for their release.

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Subjects

Courts