judge Carl F. Gerds.jpg

Macomb County 38th District Judge Carl F. Gerds III (District court photo)

It was pretty simple. If you didn't have the funds to pay your fine, there was a good chance you'd pay with jail time, says the ACLU of Michigan.

The civil rights group says court observers alerted the organization about Macomb County 38th District Court Judge Carl F. Gerds III, who "had a standard practice of routinely imposing 'pay or stay' sentences without determining whether the defendants could afford to pay."

The ACLU then filed a a court action for superintending control on behalf of Eastpointe resident Donna Anderson, who faced jail for her inability to pay a $455 fine stemming from a dog-ordinance violation.

The court action asked Macomb County Circuit Court to intervene and end Gerds' pay-or-stay practices.

The court this week signed an order telling Gerds to stop sending people to jail for their inability to pay fines, without first looking at their finances to see if the payment is feasible.

"We're elated about the court's order because it upholds a basic principle of fairness in our nation--that nobody should be jailed just because he or she is too poor to pay fines, fees and costs," ACLU of Michigan legal director Michael J. Steinberg said in a prepared statement.

"We are relieved to know that defendants in Eastpointe no longer have to worry about landing in what amounts to illegal debtors' prisons."

The ACLU has taken similar actions in courts across the state and says it hopes the state Supreme Court will adopt guidelines to stop "debtors' prisons."

The ACLU complaint against Gerds was originally filed in July.