Attorney General Lynch: Treat defendants as citizens, not cash registers

WashPost

The nation’s top law enforcement official on Tuesday called for a recalibration of the nation’s justice system that for many people, she said, is “not a guarantee of equality, but an obstacle to opportunity.”

Attorney General Loretta E. Lynch urged leaders in the legal profession to overhaul court fees, fines and a money bail system that can lead to a cycle of debt, incarceration and poverty for those who cannot afford to pay.

“When we begin to treat defendants as cash registers, rather than citizens, we do more damage to the fabric of our institutions,” Lynch told a crowd of judges, lawyers and law clerks gathered for an annual lecture at the U.S. District Court in Washington, a few blocks from the U.S. Capitol.

“We stain the sanctity of our laws. And we only tighten the shackles of those struggling to break the chains of poverty.” [MORE]