Fees and Fines: An Economist’s View of Who Should Pay

Robert D. Ebel (rebel@robertebel.com)
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Robert D. Ebel: International Center for Public Policy, Andrew Young School of Policy Studies, Georgia State Univeristy

International Center for Public Policy Working Paper Series, at AYSPS, GSU from International Center for Public Policy, Andrew Young School of Policy Studies, Georgia State University

Abstract: In Bearden v. Georgia (1983), the US Supreme Court found that an indigent defendant cannot be jailed for an inability to pay a fee or fine unless the defendant has “has willfully refused to pay the fine or restitution when he has the resources to pay or has failed to make…efforts to seek employment or borrow money to pay…” However, the Court stopped short of giving clear guidance on the meaning of either ability or willingness to pay (Edelman, 2017). The US Constitution is explicit that that once a person is convicted of a crime the fines imposed shall not be excessive.

Date: 2018-07
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:ays:ispwps:paper1815

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