LDF Asks Supreme Court to Ban Imprisonment in Lieu of Fine - Charges Illinois Practice Results in Unequal Punishment of Rich and Poor

Press Release
April 25, 1970

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- Press Releases
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- LDF
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- 69e08b16-ba92-ee11-be37-00224827e97b

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Press Releases, Volume 6. LDF Asks Supreme Court to Ban Imprisonment in Lieu of Fine - Charges Illinois Practice Results in Unequal Punishment of Rich and Poor, 1970. 69e08b16-ba92-ee11-be37-00224827e97b. LDF Archives, Thurgood Marshall Institute. https://ldfrecollection.org/archives/archives-search/archives-item/4108a053-6431-4cec-9a51-f04e404deff5/ldf-asks-supreme-court-to-ban-imprisonment-in-lieu-of-fine-charges-illinois-practice-results-in-unequal-punishment-of-rich-and-poor. Accessed November 23, 2025.

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    \\o 
lind 

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President 8 
Hon. Francis E. 

PRESS RELEASE Director-Counsel 
egal efense un Jack Greenberg 

NAACP LEGAL DEFENSE AND EDUCATIONAL FUND, INC. basco cary 
10 Columbus Circle, New York, N.Y. 10019 * JUdson 6-8397 NIGHT NUMBER 212-749-8487 

FOR RELEASE 
SATURDAY, 
April 25, 1970 

LDF ASKS SUPREME COURT TO BAN 
IMPRISONMENT IN LIEU OF FINE 

Charges Illinois Practice Results In 
Unequal Punishment of Rich and Poor 

WASHINGTON, D.C.---The constitutionality of imprisoning a pauper 

beyond the maximum time set for his offense in order to pay off a 

fine was challenged this week in the U.S. Supreme Court by attorneys 

of the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund, Inc. (LDF) and the 

Commmity Legal Counsel of Chicago. 

Arguing in behalf of Willie E. Williams, an indigent who was 

tried and convicted without legal counsel on charges of petty theft 

(less than $150 in value), the attorneys contended that the Illinois 

law authorizing an additional sentence for nonpayment of the fine-- 

despite his willingness to pay it if given the opportunity--violates 

the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment in placing 

“a far heavier burden on the poor" than on the wealthy. 

Mr. Williams was sentenced to the maximum term of one year in 

jail and a fine of $505 which, in default of payment, was to be 

"worked off" in prison at the rate of $5.00 per day. 

For the same offense, the LDF argued, a poor man is "deprived 

of the things that make life worth living" while the man with means 

is only inconvenienced. 

The attorneys maintained that such inequity is compounded by 

the fact that imposition of a fine indicates jail is not necessary 

for the gravity of the offense or for the safety of the community 

or the offender. 

This is one of several LDF cases challenging discriminatory 

treatment of the poor in the criminal law process. 

HEHE

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LDF Asks Supreme Court to Ban Imprisonment in Lieu of Fine - Charges Illinois Practice Results in Unequal Punishment of Rich and Poor

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