debtors’ prison
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Federal Judge Stops New Orleans From Jailing Those Who Fail to Pay Fines, Rules That They Must Have a Chance to Plead Poverty
Instead of being immediately tossed into jail for failing to pay fines or fees related to whatever legal issues you may have, a federal judge has ruled that anyone who owes money from criminal convictions in New Orleans must have a chance to plead poverty in a “neutral forum,” before being put behind bars for…