The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) Thursday announced that it has filed a federal lawsuit challenging the debt collection practices of an Atlanta-area county and the debt collection agency it uses to recover court fines and probation fees.
The suit was brought on behalf of Kevin Thompson, a teenager in DeKalb County, Ga., who was jailed because he could not afford to pay fines and fees stemming from a traffic ticket. The case, Thompson v. DeKalb County, was filed in U.S. District Court in Atlanta. It names DeKalb County, Chief Judge Nelly Withers of the DeKalb County Recorders Court, and Judicial Correction Services, Inc. as defendants.
Thompson’s license was suspended after failing to appear in court in April 2014 for what the complaint says was a minor traffic violation. He resolved that issue, but forgot to file the proper paperwork to get his license reinstated. In July, he was pulled over by a DeKalb County police officer who informed him that his license was suspended. As such, he was arrested for driving on a suspended license. He spent one night in jail.
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