New Michigan Rules Aimed at Ending Pay-or-Stay Sentences

The state Supreme Court has announced a series of amendments to court rules designed to ensure that individuals are no longer jailed simply because they’re too poor to pay court costs.

The ACLU has also challenged unconstitutional “pay-or-stay” sentencing practices in court, most recently in Eastpointe, and has asked the federal government to investigate. The sentencing practice creates a two-tier justice system, ACLU and other criminal-justice reform groups working to end debtors’ prisons.

The ACLU singled out 38th District Court in Eastpointe and Judge Carl Gerds last year in Macomb County Circuit Court for jailing defendants because they could not pay court fines and fees. Earlier this year, the Macomb County Circuit Court ordered Gerds to stop handing down pay-or-stay sentences.

• SEE ALSO: Judge Ordered to Stop Jailing Poor People Who Can’t Pay Fees

“Debtors’ prisons have continued to be a persistent problem in Michigan, so we’re extremely grateful that the Supreme Court has taken such significant steps to prevent people from being locked up for no reason other than their inability to pay fines and fees,” Miriam Aukerman, ACLU of Michigan staff attorney, said in a statement..

“Being poor isn’t a crime and shouldn’t condemn you to serving jail time that someone with means can pay to avoid,” Aukerman said. “These changes to our sentencing rules are most welcome and long overdue.”

• NEWSLETTER: Top Michigan Headlines from Patch Editor Beth Dalbey

The most significant of the court’s changes prohibits judges from sentencing a person to jail for nonpayment without first determining whether the person can afford to pay. If a court discovers that a person lacks the ability to pay fees and/or fines, the court can set up a payment plan or waive part or all of what a person owes.

The ALU challenged Gerds, the Eastpointe judge, by filing a lawsuit on behalf of a woman facing jail time because she failed to license her dogs and failed to appear in court. The woman, a single mother of two young children who receives government assistance, was unable to pay the $455 in fines Gerds ordered. In court filings, Gerds' attorney said Gerds was never going to send the woman to jail; the attorney also has said Gerds was following court rules.

• THE RULES: Read the new court rules.
• ACLU Efforts: Read more about eliminating debtors’ prisons across the country.

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