Does the U.S Constitution forbid imprisonment for debt, and if so, where?

Question

Thank you for your responses thus far. I'm going to leave this open as long as I can. One reason I ask about this is that in some movie, the name of which I can't recall, the plot is resolved by reference to this supposed point of Constitutional law. Not that movies are an authoritative source.

Answer 1

no, you can go to prison for not filing your income taxes, but you can't for inability to pay

Answer 2

1

Answer 3

Contrary to what others have asserted, it is not in the Constitution and the use of the 13th Amendment is NOT a good argument. The 13th Amendment deals with abolishing slavery and involuntary servitude is not implied in debtor's prison. A better argument would be the cruel & unusual punishment provisions of the 8th Amendment.

Debtor's prisons are not specifically dealt with in the Constitution. However, there are laws the do allow imprisonment for civil debts under certain circumstances.

A judgment creditor in most states can obtain an order of a debtor's examination. If the debtor fails to appear, the debtor can be jailed for contempt.

Most state also allow the court's contempt powers to jail a person who wilfully fails to pay child or spousal support.

Answer 4

Not that I know, but I believe federal and some state statute do, since the time of Andrew Jackson. Nowadays, if you re poor (and usually Black) you can go back to jail for not paying various court and other fees resulting from your imprisonment even for a minor offense, probation services, etc., even if you can t get a job because you have a record. You can also be imprisoned if a judgment is entered against you by a bank or hospital for nonpayment of a huge bill and you fail to appear for a court hearing, for an examination under oath, or to answer written questions about your property, all because you don t understand your rights and obligations and can t afford a lawyer. Needless to say, the poorest people with least education suffer disproportionately. (Reporting on the lasting effects of incarceration appeared in the NY Times recently; earlier reporting dealt with private debt).

Answer 5

It's not in the Constitution directly, but the 13th Amendment argument (above) is a good one. Most federal courts, however, rely in the Due Process clause of the 5th Amendment for that result.

Many such provisions exists in state constitutions, however, and this general protection has been recognize by the Supreme Court for over a century.

Quoting from Freeman v. U.S., 217 U.S. 539, 540 (1910):
"
Statutes relieving from imprisonment for debt were not intended to take away the right to enforce criminal statutes and punish wrongful embezzlements or conversions of money. It was not the purpose of this class of legislation to interfere with the enforcement of such penal statutes, although it provides for the payment of money as a penalty for the commission of an offense. Such laws are rather intended to prevent the commitment of debtors to prison for liabilities arising upon their contracts.
"

This distinguishes imprisonment for a criminal action (fraud, failure to pay taxes) from imprisonment for poverty. It's also worth nothing that the courts generally recognize an objective inability to pay (being insolvent involuntarily) as a defense against non-payment, to avoid turning poverty into a criminal charge.

Answer 6

The Constitution doesn't mention imprisionment for debt. So it doesn't not forbid it.

You are supposed to be charged with a crime before you can be imprisoned. Tax Evasion is a crime. A crime is only a crime if it is stated in codified law. So you shouldn't be looking at the Constituion, but U.S. Code law.

Answer 7

Debtor's prison was outlawed by the 13th Amendment, which says that no one shall be held for involuntary servitude except upon conviction of a crime.

Of course, some debts have been made into crimes, such as failure to pay taxes and failure to pay child support. You are not really being thrown into jail for the debt, but for the crime of failure to pay it.

Answer 8

How about the 11th amendment since the federal reserve is not of the government or the U.S. and prints all money?

Answer 9

You CAN go to jail for inability to pay, my uncle went to jail for excess back taxes in which he had no physical resources to pay. Whats sad and ironic is that he is a farmer...

Answer 10

there is no such thing as a debtors prison.