10
identication or adequate information about their income and expenses to qualify.
30
Many courts
also condition entering a payment plan on a large down payment.
31
For example, the Dallas
Municipal Court requires a 30 percent down payment up front, while the Burleson Municipal
Court requires a payment of “$125 or 20 percent, whichever is greater, for the initial payment at the
time of the request.”
32
The monthly payments ordered with payment plans may not be affordable either. In addition
to the various fees already covered, some courts require minimum payments of $100 or more a
month.
33
The Kyle Municipal Court and Dallas Municipal Court both require complete payment of
the assessed amount within three months, even on a payment plan.
34
Wood County offers only 30
days for payment and warns individuals not to call the court to ask for more time.
35
Courts vastly underutilize community service as an alternative to payment as well. For example,
the El Paso Municipal Court did not start offering community service options to adults until
after an exposé on the court’s illegal practices was published by BuzzFeed News.
36
Likewise, the
Amarillo Municipal Court only offers community service to juveniles.
37
Many other sizable cities
– including Richardson, Allen, Longview, Duncanville and Sherman – self-reported to the Ofce of
Court Administration that community service credit was not used to satisfy nes in a single case
30 See, e.g., Time Payment Plans, CiTy of Burleson, TexAs,https://burlesontx.com/555/Time-Payment-Plans(last
visitedSept.13,2016)(allowingonlystate-issueddriver’slicensesandidenticationcards);JudgeWayneL.Mack,
MontgomeryCountyJusticeCourtIndigencyApplication,available at http://www.mctx.org/courts/justices_of_the_
peace/justice_of_the_peace_pct_1/docs/Online_Payment_Plan_Docs.pdf(lastvisitedSept.13,2016)(allowingstate-
issueddriver’slicensesandidenticationcards,schoolidenticationcards,andbirthcerticates);Extension to Pay
Fine, CiTy of Keene, available at https://keenetx.com/departments/municipal-court(lastvisitedSept.13,2016)(allowing
onlystate-issueddriver’slicensesandidenticationcards).
31 See, e.g., Time Payment Plans, supra note 30 (notingthatpeopleapplyingforpaymentplansmust“[p]ay$125or20%,
whicheverisgreater,fortheinitialpaymentatthetimeofrequest”);FAQ for Extensions and Payment Plans, Wise CounTy,
http://www.co.wise.tx.us/jp1/payment_options.htm(lastvisitedSept.13,2016)(requiringa“signicantpayment”before
entering into a payment plan; Payment Plan Application, Wood CounTy, supranote29(dictatingthatdefendantsmust
payallcourtcostsattimeofapplication);Extension to Pay Fine, PlAno muniCiPAl CourT,https://www.plano.gov/367/
Extension-to-Pay-Fine (last visited Sept. 13, 2016) (screenshotonle,requiring$100downforeachticket).
32 Time Payment Plans, supra note 31; Court and Detention Services, CiTy of dAllAs, http://dallascityhall.com/
departments/courtdetentionservices/pages/payment-plan.aspx(lastvisitedSept.8,2016).
33 Payment Information, GrAnd PrAirie muniCiPAl CourT,http://www.gptx.org/city-government/city-departments/municipal-
court/payment-information(lastvisitedSept.13,2016)(listingminimummonthlypaymentamountsthatincreaseas
thetotalamountowedincreases);Payment Options, CiTy of irvinG,http://cityorving.org/329/Payment-Options(last
visitedSept.13,2016)(requiringaminimummonthlypaymentof$100).
34 Payment Plan, CiTy of dAllAs,http://dallascityhall.com/departments/courtdetentionservices/pages/payment-plan.aspx
(lastvisitedSept.14,2016)(allowingamaximumof90daystomakeallpayments);Fines/Court Costs, CiTy of Kyle,
http://www.cityofkyle.com/municipalcourt/nes-court-costs(lastvisitedSept.14,2016)(allowingamaximumofthree
monthstomakeallpayments).
35 Plea and Personal Data Form for Adavit of Indigency and/or Application for Payment of Courts Costs, Fines &
Fees, Wood CounTy JusTiCe of The PeACe CourT ComPliAnCe And ColleCTions, available athttp://www.mywoodcounty.com/
users/0012/docs/Payment%20Plan.pdf.
36 Kendall Taggart & Alex Campbell, Their Crime: Being Poor. Their Sentence: Jail., Buzzfeed(Oct.7,2015),available at
https://www.buzzfeed.com/kendalltaggart/in-texas-its-a-crime-to-be-poor?.
37 SecondAmendedClassActionComplaintat7,McKee v. Amarillo,No.2:16-cv-00009-J,page7(N.D.Tex.Apr.4,2016).