Groundbreaking Agreement That Should Be Replicated Elsewhere Ends Practice of Imprisoning People for Arbitrary Unpaid Fines
Valley Brook, Oklahoma– The Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law announced a settlement agreement with the Town of Valley Brook after a three-year legal battle. The settlement follows a lawsuit filed by the Lawyers’ Committee, Ballard Spahr LLP, and Glass & Tabor LLP in the Western District of Oklahoma that alleged serious violations by the Town of Valley Brook regarding its failure to provide constitutional safeguards for people who were unlawfully jailed for the failure to pay municipal fines and fees, such as traffic tickets. Plaintiffs were not provided access to or advised of their right to counsel. Some were not afforded appearances in court prior to being jailed. None of the individuals were provided any reasonable payment alternatives. Instead, municipal officials and employees threatened people, detained them, and instructed them to contact loved ones for payment to avoid imprisonment. When it became apparent that the individuals could not access these funds, Valley Brook sent them to the Oklahoma County jail.
Such practices remain prevalent in other cities across the country, making this settlement a model for other municipalities found to be engaging in similarly unconstitutional violations that disproportionately affect low-income communities and people of color.
The terms of the settlement require the Town of Valley Brook to stop violating the longstanding prohibition against unlawful imprisonment for unpaid fines, which amounts to creating a debtors’ prison for poor people. In the settlement, Valley Brook agreed to issue a statement that it, “recognizes that individuals are entitled to certain rights guaranteed by the U.S. Constitution and State of Oklahoma Constitution, including due process and equal protection, and that the Town’s agents and employees are prohibited from violating the same.”
Valley Brook agreed to require all current and future officers to take courses on searches and probable cause. In addition, the settlement requires the town to review its policies on Miranda warnings, police traffic stops, and searches (of vehicles and individuals), and submit any proposed revisions to the plaintiffs’ attorneys to review.
The city must also provide information to counsel over the course of three years, including the number of people that are sent to county jail and make recordings of each court session available for five years.
“For decades, the city of Valley Brook has unconstitutionally penalized individuals for violations as minor as not being able to afford to pay a ticket for a broken headlight,” said Tianna Mays, Acting Director of the Lawyers’ Committee Criminal Justice Project. “The unconstitutional jailing of those unable to pay municipal fines and fees levied on them must end, and it’s time for those in government to address these poverty traps created by funding disparities that target people with lower incomes. Valley Brook has taken a meaningful first step in allowing us to oversee much needed changes and ensure their effective implementation, but their work is only just beginning.”
When someone is jailed for not having the money to pay fines, it creates a domino and punitive effect, often pushing them further into poverty and wreaking havoc in their lives. For instance, they can lose their jobs, housing, and, in some cases, custody of their children. Additionally, when courts levy these high fines and fees, some are forced to choose between paying the court or buying food and medicine.
One plaintiff, a single mother with young children all under the age of 12 and no family in the area, was separated from her kids and lost her job with a home healthcare company after being sent to jail for five days for being unable to pay her fines. Another lost all of his personal possessions while he was jailed for being able to pay arbitrarily assigned fines.
“This agreement not only puts an end to unconstitutional practices in Valley Brook, it can also serve as a blueprint for addressing such practices by municipal governments in other places around the country,” said Jason A. Leckerman, chair of the Litigation Department at Ballard Spahr, who helped lead the firm’s team that worked on the case pro bono. “We’re proud to partner with the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law and fellow co-counsel to bring relief to individuals who were subjected to unconstitutional tactics—often with seriously harmful consequences for them and their families.”
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About the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law – The Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law is a nonpartisan, nonprofit organization, formed in 1963 at the request of President John F. Kennedy to mobilize the nation’s leading lawyers as agents for change in the Civil Rights Movement. Today, the Lawyers’ Committee uses legal advocacy to achieve racial justice, fighting inside and outside the courts to ensure that Black people and other people of color have the voice, opportunity, and power to make the promises of our democracy real. For more information, please visit https://lawyerscommittee.org.
