Government

Delaware's New Law Just Made It Easier To Get Back On Your Feet After Being Fined

You should probably still try to avoid getting a ticket.

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1024px-Seal_of_DelawareBen Bostick put it best, ”It Ain’t Cheap Being Poor.” And while Delaware has a reputation for being very inviting to corporate persons, it has been less than kind toward poor people. That’s not even an ad hom — the numbers say it’s the 4th worst state when it comes to protecting against abusive fines and fees. Thankfully, it looks like Delaware is looking to turn a new leaf.

As in most states, in Delaware, even a seemingly petty fine can be financially devastating. For instance, a simple misdemeanor may be punished with a $100 base fine. But once all the additional fees and surcharges are included, that fine can actually top $500. Considering more than half of Americans don’t have enough savings to cover an unexpected $1,000 bill, even a minor fine can become a major emergency.

Most might think “Sure, just don’t get fined,” but I know you’re better than that. You’re a lawyer after all, and you know that there are as many violations of the law as there are permutations of why that stupid judge should have sided with your client despite the law and facts not being in their favor. And there’s money in enforcing fines — remember that time an Alabama police department bypassed fundraising by selling cookies and lemonade and just gave a bunch of people tickets with a side of stalking? Though I’m not too sure of Delaware’s snooping strategy, petty punishment as fundraising hopped and skipped over to Delaware too.

Those who can’t immediately pay off their court debt often find themselves trapped in a perversely vicious cycle. People unable to cover their court debt are fined for a failure to pay, which adds even more debt to their burden. In other words, Delaware was effectively criminalizing poverty. But despite inflicting so much hardship, nickel and diming residents with fines and fees is a woefully inefficient way to fund the government.

Thankfully, Delaware will have to consider alternate avenues of revenue.

HB 244 bans courts from charging interest or imposing fees for late payments, failing to pay, or paying in installments. The new law further repeals two particularly absurd fees that have netted the state a steady stream of revenue—over $1.1 million each year. First, it eliminates a fee that forces people on probation to pay for their own supervision. The reform also repeals the state’s fee for using a public defender, even though public defenders famously do not charge clients for their services; over 40 states charge a similarly oxymoronic fee.

Fret not, I doubt Delaware will have to resort to finally making that OnlyFans account to keep the lights on. There are many other ways the state can amass revenue, what with personal income taxes and good ol’ gambling sprees. Who knows, the state may also benefit by seeing a reduction in crime? Given the apparent causal link between poverty and property crimes, the fewer things that lock people in to being perpetually broke, the better. The law also stops driver’s licenses from being suspended because of not paying fines. Maybe this will… I don’t know, let people get to their jobs so they can make money to cover their tabs? Radical changes aplenty.

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New Delaware Law Ends Many Fines And Fees That Criminalize Poverty [Forbes]

Chris Williams became a social media manager and assistant editor for Above the Law in June 2021. Prior to joining the staff, he moonlighted as a minor Memelord™ in the Facebook group Law School Memes for Edgy T14s.  He endured Missouri long enough to graduate from Washington University in St. Louis School of Law. He is a former boatbuilder who cannot swim, a published author on critical race theory, philosophy, and humor, and has a love for cycling that occasionally annoys his peers. You can reach him by email at cwilliams@abovethelaw.com and by tweet at @WritesForRent.

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