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About Street roots. (Portland, OR) 1998-current | View Entire Issue (Nov. 16, 2018)
News Page 4 Street Roots • Nov. 16-22, 2018 The definition of insanity... Oregon courts are going through the motions of imposing and collecting punitive fines, but when it comes to low-income defendants, nothing about the process adds up BY EMILY GREEN SENIOR STAFF REPOTER esperate to make the cut, a handful lo f people camped out on the > J sidewalk overnight. Dozens more joined the line before sunrise. When East Portland’s Rosewood Initiative opened its doorsm l »■am; »staf f1 135 people it could serve t h atj^rifey,.^ Fines Fees A Street Roots investigation into the impact o f criminal fines and fees on low-income Oregonians PART II afternoon in October. And then it signed up 125 to 130 more, filling up the list for its months. This can make some payment plans next event before being forced to turn unaffordable to low-income defendants. people away. Suffering from initial sticker shock and Every two months in Multnomah County, not seeing a reasonable path toward settling low-income residents with unresolved legal their debts or missing a monthly payment matters can seek relief at these events, and becoming frustrated with the fees is called Legal Services Days, if they show up how some people say they wound up at early enough. The long line that morning Legal Services Day. was filled with people hoping to get out Prosecutors, public defenders and judges from under court debts that many told staff these events on a volunteer basis, Street Roots they felt had become so large, allowing defendants to exchange eligible they were difficult to pay off. debts for community service or voluntary Almost everyone was seeking a reduction alcohol and drug treatment hours at a rate or waiver of their criminal- and traffic- of 1 hour per $100 of debt. They can related fines and fees to clear the way for exchange up to 80 hours. After that, any getting their driver’s license back or so they remaining eligible balance can also be could expunge old convictions from their forgiven. Restitution and select fines and record. In many cases, hundreds of dollars fees are ineligible for relief. in additional fees, interest and other To get the slate wiped clean, participants assessments had been tacked onto the must swear before a judge that financial debtors’ bills as they sat uncollected. hardship has prevented them from paying , Under state statute, county circuit courts their debts and provide an official letter in Oregon must charge an additional $50 to showing how many hours of treatment or $200 just to set up a payment plan. If volunteer work they’ve completed. payments are missed and that debt goes to Those who spoke to Street Roots said the Oregon Department of Revenue for they were motivated to settle their debts collections, an additional 28 percent of the because, in many instances, their balance owed is added to the hill. Should it outstanding bills and the resulting go to a third party collections agency, it consequences had kept them from accessing begins to accrue interest at a rate of 9 . housing, employment and from being able to percent Debts can easily double before drive legally. they’re ever Sent to collections because “I was denied housing seven times,” said • setting up a payment plan alone can ' Craig Ali, a 53-year-old African-American increase the amount owed by as much as man with multiple sclerosis. He and his 128 percent. daughter were homeless for many years, he Municipal courts often have their own said, and his criminal record often stood in schedules of additional fees and surcharges, and among many Oregon courts, debtors are the way of getting a roof over their heads. Because he still owed court-related debts on required to pay off traffic tickets within 12 a couple 17-year-old felonies, he was not eligible for expungement. He said this also resulted in at least a dozen employment denials. “They even denied me at Goodwill,” he said. Single mother Natasha Rea came to Legal Services Day with two of her three kids in tow. She’s earned a peer support certificate and wants to work as recovery mentor, but can’t travel as needed without her driver’s license. She said the source of her debt is all traffic related, beginning with fines for expired tags and speeding tickets she was issued 7 years ago that she couldn’t afford to pay. Nonpayment led to her license being suspended, and then she was ticketed for driving on a suspended license. She was ecstatic that she was able to get relief for the $6,500 she owed to Multnomah County. “It feels amazing to be able to start fresh,” she said. “I’m going to start working and get a car - things people take for granted.” Some debtors had paid significant amounts on their bills, such as Brittany Morris, a 27-year-old single mother who works as a cashier. She’s paid the state close to $25,000 over the past 10 years on two DUIIs and multiple traffic violations, she said. Her 10-hour work shifts begins at 5 a.m., but she needs to take her daughter to school on her break at 9 a.m., which led to a misdemeanor charge for driving on a suspended license. After nine years of suspension, she got her license back in December through the Department of Revenue’s reinstatement program, which allows debtors to regain their driving privileges after making a deposit followed by monthly payments. Morris had come to Legal Services Day to get some relief from the $5,160 she still owed the courts. She said she’s had to make a lot of sacrifices to make payments her debts over the years, including going without health insurance and spending less on necessities such as food and clothing. A recently released former inmate, who asked to be called “C.J.,” showed Street Roots receipts for the $43,190 in traffic and court fines he was forgiven that day. He said when he was younger, he was frequently pulled over and ticketed for “driving while black.” After serving a 4-year prison sentence for marijuana and gun-related charges, C.J. heard about the event through his halfway house. As a 53-year-old gas station attendant, it’s unlikely he would ever have been able to pay off such a large debt Several attendees told Street Roots thkt their court- and traffic-related fines and fees stacked up when they were in the throes of addiction, and now that they were in recovery, large legal bills stood in the way of becoming fully functioning members of society. A similar legal clinic was organized as part of the annual Veteran’s Stand Down event at the Portland Convention Center in September. There, veterans pledged to do community service in exchange for a reduction in fines, but unlike at Legal Services Day, there was no requirement they prove the hours were ever completed. Curtis Tice, who shuffled in with a walker, said he planned to volunteer at his church to pay off his debt. He owes $1,600 on two traffic cases that are more than 8 years old. He said it’s hard for him to get around on public transportation with his disabilities and he hopes to get his license back. “That’s a big chunk of change,” Multnomah County Judge Beth Allen told him when he approached her table. “Let’s make it go away.” From these, and other interviews Street See IN SA N ITY, page 5
