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27 Geo. Mason U. C.R. L.J. 265 (2016-2017)
Indebted to Injustice: The Meaning of Willfulness in a Georgia v. Bearden Ability to Pay Hearing

handle is hein.journals/gmcvr27 and id is 277 raw text is: INDEBTED TO INJUSTICE: THE MEANING OF WILLFULNESS IN A GEORGIA V. BEARDEN ABILITY TO PAY HEARING Jaclyn Kurin* INTRODUCTION Is the justice system punishing the guilty for being poor? Is it finding a new source of revenue in squeezing the destitute? In 1999, in the state of Washington, James Nason was sentenced to 30 days in jail and $750 in fines and fees for second-degree bur- glary.' Nason was unemployed, living out of his car, and had no income other than a $152 monthly allotment in food stamps.2 Given his meager means, Nason was unable to pay the interest on his fines and his fees which more than doubled over the next several years.3 In 2006, after being arrested for failure to pay his legal financial obliga- tions (LFOs) consisting of his court costs, fees, and restitution, the court found that Nason had willfully refused to pay.4 Although Nason had made some payments, the prosecution said that there was no evi- dence that Nason had attempted to pay off his LFOs. At the hearing, the prosecutor argued Nason could have made payments by collecting aluminum cans.6 The judge agreed with the prosecutor.' The court ordered Nason to report to the jail if he failed to pay $25 per month. Under the court's order, if Nason failed to turn himself in, he would * LL.M., University of California, Los Angeles, degree expected 2018. J.D., Antonin Scalia Law School at George Mason University, 2016. 1 AMERICAN CIVIL LIBERTIES UNION, IN FOR A PENNY, THE RISE OF AMERICA'S NEW DEBTORS' PRISONS 65 (2010) [hereinafter IN FOR A PENNY]. 2 Id. 3 See id. 4 See id. 65-66. 5 Id. 6 See id. at 66. The source does not indicate whether the prosecutor presented evidence that such cans existed or that there were enough cans to cover the required restitution payments. 7 See IN FOR A PENNY, supra note 1, at 66. 8 Id. 265

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