Debt-to-Jail Pipeline
The criminalization of private debt happens when judges, at the request of collection agencies, issue arrest warrants for people who failed to appear in court to deal with unpaid civil debt judgments. In many cases, the debtors were unaware they were sued or had not received notice to show up in court.
There are tens of thousands of these warrants issued annually, but the total number is unknown, because states and local courts do not typically track these orders as a category of arrest warrants. In a review of court records, the ACLU examined more than 1,000 cases in which civil court judges issued arrest warrants for debtors, sometimes to collect amounts as small as $28.
Map Data:
Show map dataArizona
Civil court judge issued arrest warrants for debtors.
Arkansas
Civil court judge issued arrest warrants for debtors.
California
Civil court judge issued arrest warrants for debtors.
Colorado
Civil court judge issued arrest warrants for debtors.
Florida
Civil court judge issued arrest warrants for debtors.
Idaho
Civil court judge issued arrest warrants for debtors.
Illinois
Civil court judge issued arrest warrants for debtors.
Indiana
Civil court judge issued arrest warrants for debtors.
Kansas
Civil court judge issued arrest warrants for debtors.
Louisiana
Civil court judge issued arrest warrants for debtors.
Maryland
Civil court judge issued arrest warrants for debtors.
Massachusetts
Civil court judge issued arrest warrants for debtors.
Michigan
Civil court judge issued arrest warrants for debtors.
Minnesota
Civil court judge issued arrest warrants for debtors.
Missouri
Civil court judge issued arrest warrants for debtors.
Nebraska
Civil court judge issued arrest warrants for debtors.
Ohio
Civil court judge issued arrest warrants for debtors.
Oregon
Civil court judge issued arrest warrants for debtors.
Pennsylvania
Civil court judge issued arrest warrants for debtors.
Rhode Island
Civil court judge issued arrest warrants for debtors.
Tennessee
Civil court judge issued arrest warrants for debtors.
Texas
Civil court judge issued arrest warrants for debtors.
Utah
Civil court judge issued arrest warrants for debtors.
Washington State
Civil court judge issued arrest warrants for debtors.
Wisconsin
Civil court judge issued arrest warrants for debtors.