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Criminal,
Constitutional Law,
California Supreme Court

Feb. 18, 2020

Courts shouldn’t punish those who can’t afford to pay fines

Does due process require an ability to pay before imposing criminal fines? Is it fundamentally unfair to impose assessments to fund the courts on the poor, who can never pay the fines but suffer the consequences of civil judgments, collection calls and further cascading burden? These questions are currently before the California Supreme Court based on different answers provided by the California Courts of Appeal.

Timothy D. Reuben

Founder and CEO
Reuben, Raucher & Blum

Phone: (310) 777-1990

Email: treuben@rrbattorneys.com

Reuben is the founder and CEO at Reuben Raucher & Blum. Alongside his extensive career as a civil litigator specializing in complex matters at both the trial and appellate level, he serves pro bono as a temporary judge and settlement officer for the Los Angeles Superior Court, as well as a fee arbitrator for the LA County Bar.

Does due process require an ability to pay before imposing criminal fines? Is it fundamentally unfair to impose assessments to fund the courts on the poor, who can never pay the fines but suffer the consequences of civil judgments, collection calls and further cascading burden?

These questions are currently before the California Supreme Court based on different answers provided by the California Courts of Appeal. Unfortunately, the ...

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