Sunday, January 17, 2010

Heartless?

Our local Judge Schwedler is heartless when it comes to
imposing fines and penalties. In most jurisdictions in
the United Sates judges make sure that defendants who
owe the court money aren't financially destroyed by the
systems that most of us see as corrections rather than
punishment of the entire family for the father's misdeeds.

From the below referenced web page, Schwedler is quoted:

"It’s really quite simple," explains Administrative Chief
Judge C. Joseph Schwedler of the Iron County Trial Court.
"We expect those who know they will owe money to come to
the court prepared to pay. And we tell them that."

"I was skeptical at first, given the type of defendant
we deal with up here in the Upper Peninsula, where the
economy is not flourishing like it is in other parts of
the state."

(Well he's wrong on all counts in this.)

"Almost immediately, the clerks commented on how much
more traffic there was in their office, with defendants
wanting to satisfy their court debts. When you create
the expectation, the money rolls in."

courts.michigan.gov/scao/resources/standards/cl_section3.pdf

Is this necessary? The people paying the fines and
penalties generally have very little to begin with. Is
the court unnecessarily pushing them into asking for
charity or state support as a consequence? Yes, fines
and penalties must be paid, but does the court system
really need to be irrational about it?

And why wasn't this sort of information provided by the
local newsprint media when it is fresh?

Bill Vajk

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