Back when we were a colony, there existed a place called Debtor Prison. People who owed money were sent to jail if they didn’t pay. Georgia was actually started as a place to exile people.
One of the many great things about our constitutional changes was the elimination of practices that we found repugnant. The idea of throwing people into prison for debt was one of the many.
There are additional state protections in many states:
“No person shall be imprisoned for debt in this state, but this shall not prevent the legislature from providing for imprisonment, or holding to bail, persons charged with fraud in contracting said debt.” Minnesota Constitution, Article 1, Section 12
Unfortunately, as the Minneapolis Tribune recently covered with a number of case studies, it seems that through the use of civil contempt charges people are being imprisoned. Basically, creditors obtain judgments and then when they aren’t paid they move the court for a warrant for not following the judge’s orders. People are then arrested and jailed. Their bail is often the amount of the debt.
Isn’t this a civil matter? How are people being held without being criminally charged? It seems like the same thing and doesn’t really look like something the courts should be doing. Why are we wasting police time and court personnel in these quasi-criminal proceedings? It doesn’t seem fair or constitutional.
