Fixing Pennsylvania’s Debtors’ Prisons

Legislative Remedies

Debtors' Prison: Proposed Legislative Remedies (updated 2/28/2018)

Recent Legislative Reforms

n Act 163 of 2022, the legislature provided courts with additional options when collecting fines, costs, and restitution. These changes allow all courts to reduce or waive all fines and costs (with one exception) and allows courts to send cases to private debt collection agencies if a defendant fails to appear for a payment determination hearing (with additional procedural protections for defendants under those circumstances). To learn more about the changes in this Act, please see our Guide to Act 163 of 2022 (updated 11/4/2022).

Act 163 of 2022 - Fines and Costs Bill Summary

2019 Proposed Rules Changes

In March 2019, the Rules Committee released a revised proposal that would address how magisterial district courts impose and collect court fines and costs. While this revised proposal was responsive to some of the comments submitted in 2018 (detailed below), we believe that it still needs to be improved.

Read the Committee's proposal below. We have put together a summary of that proposal, as well as our reactions to it. Our complete comments are listed further down the page.

This proposal was out for public comment through May 2019 and garnered a number of comments. Those that the ACLU has copies of are posted here:

2018 Proposed Rules Changes

In January 2018, the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania’s Criminal Procedural Rules Committee proposed reforming the way that magisterial district courts impose and collect court fines and costs.

Read the Committee's proposal below. We have put together a summary of that proposal, as well as our reactions to it. Our complete comments are listed further down the page.

The Committee’s proposal was out for public comment through February 2018, and it garnered a number of comments. Those that the ACLU has copies of are posted here:

Related Content

Campaign

Jun 2025

Criminal Justice Reform

Modern Debtors’ Prisons: Fines, Costs, and Restitution

Every year, thousands of Pennsylvanians are jailed, have their probation revoked or extended, or lose their driver’s licenses simply because they are too poor to pay the fines and costs arising out of criminal cases, including for minor summary offenses such as speeding or disorderly conduct. In some counties, the courts have become debt-collection agencies and the jails have been transformed into modern debtors’ prisons.

Resource

Debtors’ Prison Litigation

Publication

Dec 18, 2020

Criminal Justice Reform

Imposition and Collection of Fines, Costs, and Restitution in Pennsylvania Criminal Courts: Research in Brief

The ACLU of Pennsylvania has conducted the first empirical study of the fines, costs, and restitution imposed and collected by Pennsylvania courts in criminal cases.