Class Action Says Arkansas ‘Debtors’ Prisons’ Violate Constitutional Rights

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The City of Sherwood in Arkansas has established debtors’ prisons to criminalize those who cannot afford to cover the cost of bounced checks, according to a class action lawsuit filed last week in Arkansas federal court.

Plaintiffs Charles Dade, Nakita Lewis, Nikki Petree, Lee Andrew Robertson and Philip Axelroth have filed this class action lawsuit against the City of Sherwood as well as Pulaski County, Arkansas, and the Honorable Milas H. Hale III.

The plaintiffs accuse the defendants of violating the constitutional rights of poor citizens.

Specifically, the class action lawsuit accuses the defendants of violating the Due Process and Equal Protection Clauses of the U.S. Constitution.

“These fundamental constitutional rights ensure that an individual, even if convicted of a crime and sentenced to pay a fine, may not then be re-arrested and sent to jail simply because of his or her inability to pay,” the class action lawsuit states.

The plaintiffs say that these constitutional rights have been eroded.

“Local courts and municipalities throughout Arkansas have used the threat and reality of incarceration to trap their poorest citizens in a never-ending spiral of repetitive court proceedings and ever-increasing debt,” the class action lawsuit alleges. “Faced with opposition to increased taxes, municipalities have turned to creating a system of debtors’ prisons to fuel the demand for increased public revenue from the pockets of their poorest and most vulnerable citizens.”

Sherwood is a prime example of this trend, the class action lawsuit asserts. The local district court in Sherwood has allegedly developed a reputation in the city for vigorously prosecuting violations of the Arkansas Hot Check Law, a misdemeanor offense.

“Through a labyrinthine—and lucrative—system, a single check for $15 returned for insufficient funds can be leveraged into many thousands of dollars in court costs, fines, and fees owed to Sherwood and Pulaski County,” the class action lawsuit alleges.

“These costs are often borne by the poorest and most disadvantaged citizens in the community, including Plaintiffs and others like them, who find themselves caught in a never-ending cycle of court proceedings they do not understand, arrests they cannot avoid, payments they cannot afford, and, all too often, weeks or months behind bars because they cannot pay for their freedom,” the class action lawsuit continues.

By filing the Arkansas debtors’ prison class action lawsuit, the plaintiffs seek to represent a Class of individuals who are currently held or who will be sentenced to be held in the custody of Sherwood and/or Pulaski county as a result of their failure to pay a debt for court costs, fines and fees despite their inability to pay.

A similar class action lawsuit was recently filed in Missouri, accusing 13 cities in St. Louis County of creating a debtors’ prison by jailing people who can’t afford to pay court fines.

The plaintiffs are represented by J. Alexander Lawrence of Morrison & Foerster LLP and Hallie N. Ryan of the Lawyers Committee for Civil Rights Under the Law.

The class action lawsuit was also filed by attorneys Bettina E. Brownstein of the Bettina E. Brownstein Law Firm and Reggie Koch of The Koch Law Firm on behalf of the Arkansas Civil Liberties Union Foundation Inc.

The Arkansas Debtors’ Prisons Class Action Lawsuit is Charles Dade, et al. v. City of Sherwood, Arkansas, et al., Case No. 4:16-cv-00602-JM, in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Arkansas.