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Jailing for Debt on the Rise
by Matt Clarke
The use of arrest warrants to jail people who have defaulted on debts is increasing. In Minnesota alone, there were 845 civil arrest warrants issued against debtors in 2009, an increase of 60% compared with 2004. Over a third of the states allow people to be locked …
The use of arrest warrants to jail people who have defaulted on debts is increasing. In Minnesota alone, there were 845 civil arrest warrants issued against debtors in 2009, an increase of 60% compared with 2004. Over a third of the states allow people to be locked …
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More from this issue:
- Contributions to California Politicians Rewarded with Lucrative Private Prison Contracts
- Prison Pays: Geo Corp Profits from Half-Way House Murder and Mayhem in Texas, by Craig Malisow
- From the Editor, by Paul Wright
- Felon Disenfranchisement Statute Does Not Violate Voting Rights Act, by Brandon Sample
- Sixth Circuit OK’s Federal Judge’s Membership in Racist and Sexist Country Club
- Ninth Circuit Rules PLRA Requires Exhaustion Even if Prison Grievance Process Cannot Provide Monetary Relief
- California: Continued Resistance Among Prisoners and Prison Officials Alike Slows Attempts to End Housing Segregation, by Michael Brodheim
- Inadequate Medical Care in Texas Jails Kills Hundreds of Prisoners, by Matthew Clarke
- Texas Tough: The Rise of America’s Prison Empire, by Robert Perkinson, Metropolitan Books/Holt, 484 pp (October 2010), $20.00 paperback, by Lance Tapley
- Massachusetts Prisoner Suicides More Than Four Times National Average, by Mark Wilson
- Federal Bureau of Prisons Director Retires in Wake of DUI Arrest
- Practice of Jailing Parents Who Owe Child Support Raises Questions, Concerns, by Matthew Clarke
- Report Documents Scope of Prosecutorial Misconduct in California, by Michael Brodheim
- California Jury Awards Native American Prisoner $150 on Due Process Property Claim
- Jailing for Debt on the Rise, by Matthew Clarke
- Two California Prisoners Die as a Result of Doctor’s Negligence, by Derek Gilna
- No Interlocutory Appeal from Denial of Motion for Reconsideration; $6,000 Settlement in New York Jail Abuse Case
- CA Inspector General Finds 15 of 17 Prisons Demonstrate Low Adherence to Established Medical Policies and Procedures, by Michael Brodheim
- Wisconsin DOC Settles Transgender Prisoner’s Lawsuit
- Juvenile Justice Expert Condemns Rhode Island’s Jailing of Students for Minor Offenses, by Derek Gilna
- Staff Smuggle Drugs and Porn to Washington Civil Commitment Prisoners, by Mark Wilson
- Mississippi Governor Grants Early Release to Scott Sisters, by Derek Gilna
- CCA Prisoner Awarded $3,250 in Excessive Force Lawsuit
- Trivialized Use of Presidential Pardon Power Continues Under Obama, by Brandon Sample
- Homeless Probationer’s Violation for Failure to Comply with GPS Monitoring Reversed
- Virginia ACLU Requests DOJ Investigation into Jail Deaths, by Mark Wilson
- Mexican Prison Officials Arm and Release Prisoners for Hit Squad Duties, by Matthew Clarke
- Texas Prison Guard One of "America’s Dumbest Criminals”
- Select Legal Topics, by Andrew J. Schatkin, 
University Press of America, 625 pp (Sept. 2009), $69.95, by Matthew Clarke
- Study Highlights the Burden of Fees, Debt Collection on Criminal Defendants, by Derek Gilna
- Elaborate California Parole Violator Sting Nabs 150
- Colorado Officials Lead Efforts to Modernize Afghan Prisons, by Derek Gilna
- Sweeping Settlement Covers Medical and Mental Health Care at Wisconsin Women’s Prison
- $75,000 Settlement in Pennsylvania Jail Beating
- Connecticut Sues Prison Builders for $18 Million, by Gary Hunter
- Conviction Affirmed for Former Prisoner Who Posed as Lawyer
- State Auditor Finds Vermont Sex Offender Registry Unreliable, by Matthew Clarke
- Inefficiencies in Prison Pharmacy Operations Cost California Taxpayers at Least $13 Million Annually, by Michael Brodheim
- Fifth Circuit: Sex Offender Conditions May be Imposed for Prior Sex Offense, by Matthew Clarke
- South Carolina Appellate Court Holds Prisoners Entitled to Overtime
- $50,001 Verdict for Pennsylvania Prisoner in Failure to Protect Suit
- Eighth Circuit Reverses Transport Rape Summary Judgment
- Pennsylvania Jail Pays $3 Million to Settle Class-Action Strip Search Suit
- Sixth Circuit Rules on Whether Prisoner Must Name Defendants in Grievance
- News In Brief:
More from Matthew Clarke:
- Eleventh Circuit Reinstates Alabama Prisoner’s Excessive Prison Violence Claim, Oct. 1, 2026
- Eleventh Circuit Upholds Most of Relief Ordered in Class-Action Lawsuit Challenging Unconstitutionally Inadequate Mental Health Care in Alabama Prisons, Oct. 1, 2026
- Fourth Circuit Upholds Denial of Qualified Immunity to Jail Supervisors Who Ignored Detainee’s Cranial Abscesses, Oct. 1, 2026
- Eighth Circuit Reverses District Court’s Denial of Motion to Dismiss Some Defendants from Lawsuit Over Missouri Prisoner’s Suicide, Oct. 1, 2026
- Eighth Circuit Grants Summary Judgment to Sheriff and County of Nebraska Jail Where Guard Sexually Assaulted Female Prisoner, Oct. 1, 2026
- Federal Court Orders Texas to Admit Incompetent Jailed Defendants to Mental Health Facilities Within 21 Days, Oct. 1, 2026
- Seventh Circuit Grants Qualified Immunity to Detectives Who Revealed Prisoner Was Informant, Denies Him Anonymity, Aug. 1, 2026
- Seventh Circuit Holds Federal Law Prohibits County Jail from Forcing Immigration Detainees to Perform Custodial Labor by Threatening Solitary Confinement, Aug. 1, 2026
- New Mexico Supreme Court Holds Corrections Department Regulations Do Not Exempt Use-Of-Force Documents from Public Records Disclosure, Aug. 1, 2026
- DOJ Issues Memorandum Over BOP Employees Abusing Their Law Enforcement Credentials to Illegally Purchase Personal Firearms, Aug. 1, 2026
More from these topics:
- Prison Policy Initiative Report Finds Significant Health Outcomes from Past Incarceration, Oct. 1, 2026. Statistics/Trends, Collateral consequences of prison, Health care.
- Virginia Report Finds Deaths Increasing as Prison Population Ages, Oct. 1, 2026. Statistics/Trends, De Facto Life Sentence.
- California Supreme Court Bail Ruling Cuts Some Jail Headcounts, Oct. 1, 2026. Statistics/Trends, State Legislation, Bail/Pretrial Release, Reduction of Prison Population.
- It’s Gotten Harder for Illinois Prisoners to Get Into College Classes, Oct. 1, 2026. Statistics/Trends, Education.
- Rising Deaths in Los Angeles County Jail Linked to Longer Stays, Sept. 1, 2026. Systemic Medical Neglect, Drug Overdose, Statistics/Trends, Suicides, Reduction of Prison Population.
- What 911 Calls Reveal About Jail Operations, Sept. 1, 2026. Systemic Medical Neglect, Statistics/Trends, Failure to Protect (General), Staffing, Staff Training.
- California Grand Jury Report on Deaths at Riverside County Jails, Sept. 1, 2026. Jail Misconduct, Corrections Audits, Prison Reform, Statistics/Trends, Public Records.
- Court-Ordered Report on Jail Voting in Massachusetts Finds Low-Rate, Sept. 1, 2026. Elections, Advocacy, Statistics/Trends, Public Records, Voting Rights.
- Michigan DOC Legal Payouts Top $7 Million in FY 2025, Less than One Percent of $2.15 Billion Operating Budget, Sept. 1, 2026. Statistics/Trends, Cost of Prison Systems, Damages, Settlements.
- Florida Kills Two Prisoners on Same Day, Both Elderly, Sept. 1, 2026. Statistics/Trends, Death Penalty, Death Row, Lethal Injection Method of Execution.

