The ACLU of Kansas filed an amicus brief in State of Kansas v. Beasley, in support of Mr. Beasley, who was subjected to imprisonment solely because he was unable to pay his probation fees. 

In October 2021, the Kansas Court of Appeals reversed the Johnson County District Court’s decision, finding that it improperly revoked Mr. Beasley’s probation. It found that revoking probation based on failure to pay requires a court to conform with due process, and that in Mr. Beasley’s case, the district court did not provide the proper dispositional hearings as required under Kansas law and U.S. Supreme Court precedent to determine if the probationer was responsible for the failure to pay and whether forms of punishment alternative to incarceration would have been adequate. 

Status

Victory!