Template-type: ReDIF-Paper 1.0

Author-Name: Robert D. Ebel
Author-Email: rebel@robertebel.com
Author-Workplace-Name: International Center for Public Policy, Andrew Young School of Policy Studies, Georgia State Univeristy 

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

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.  

Creation-Date: 2018-07

File-URL: https://icepp.gsu.edu/files/2018/07/paper1815.pdf
File-Format: application/pdf

Handle: RePEc:ays:ispwps:paper1815