Florida's Debtor Prisons a National Model?

Better think twice about answering that phone!!

Ms. Gainous has been caught up [Florida's] exceptionally aggressive system to collect the court fines and fees that keep its judiciary system working. Judges themselves dun citizens who have fallen behind in their payments, but unlike other creditors, they can throw debtors in jail — and they do, by the thousands.

As Florida’s budget has tightened with the economic crisis, efforts to step up the collections process have intensified, and court clerks say the pressure is on them to bring in every dollar. “I would say there is an even more dramatic focus on those funds now,” said Beth Allman, the spokeswoman for the Florida Association of Court Clerks.

Other states are intrigued by Florida’s success, and several, including Michigan and Georgia, have also cracked down on people who owe fines...

Just one more "cost-saving" measure born by the poor for the states as they face rising poverty and falling revenues.

Let's hope states and municipalities look to NYC for equitable court reform instead.

(Photo by Jim Linwood)