Benton County commissioners want ‘debtors’ prison’ issue fixed

Benton County commissioners are hopeful the long-standing practice of jailing defendants for unpaid court fees will soon be abolished.

The state American Civil Liberties Union recently sued the county, claiming that throwing people in jail or putting them on work crews for outstanding fees is unconstitutional.

Benton County District Court is one of the only courts in the state that incarcerates people for failing to pay fees, which routinely can total thousands of dollars. Other counties send people to collection agencies.

County prosecutors are working with members of the ACLU in an effort to try and change the current system, county officials told the Herald.

“We are anticipating that through some discussion with the ACLU, with our prosecuting attorney and his deputy, there might be a common ground,” said County Commissioner Jim Beaver. “I think the ACLU is pretty clear that the practice needs to be changed.”

Prosecutors, district court judges, city attorneys and county officials met at least twice recently to discuss the issue that some refer to as a “debtors’ prison” and how to move forward.

Benton County officials did not comment on the specifics of the discussions with the ALCU. However, officials called the talks are productive and they believe a resolution can be reached.

“The consensus among (Benton County) officials is to work on things,” said Prosecutor Andy Miller. “We communicated a lot of that consensus to the ACLU, and I think we are making progress.”

The lawsuit filed in Yakima Superior Court seeks a court order to change the current system, which the ACLU contends disproportionately targets and punishes the poor, creating a revolving door of incarceration.

Post-conviction bills include fines, restitution, court-appointed attorney costs and other fees. A person is credited with $50 for spending a day in jail and $70 for a day on work crew.

The ACLU is looking for Benton County to make “significant changes” to the current system, said spokesman Doug Honig. He would not discuss whether the two sides are in negotiations.

“The purpose of our lawsuit is to improve the seriously deficient system of collecting court-imposed debts,” he said.

County Commissioner Jerome Delvin expressed frustration that the practice has led to a lawsuit against the county.

He said this week that of a resolution to fix the system isn’t reached soon, he plans to ask fellow commissioners to take steps to ensure it’s changed.

Commissioners control the daily bed rate at the jail. That’s the fee that cities pay to offset the cost of housing inmates, Delvin said. Commissioners could slash the fee completely, eliminating revenue for holding people in jail for unpaid fees.

Delvin said he also will consider asking commissioners to do away with work crews.

“My solution is pretty simple,” he said. “We will just get rid of work crews and all those things people are using to pay off their debts, and maybe District Court can send all those (fees) to collection (agencies).”

This story was originally published October 23, 2015 at 9:22 PM with the headline "Benton County commissioners want ‘debtors’ prison’ issue fixed."