Fees collected from convicts called illegal tax

DETROIT — The Michigan Supreme Court is hearing a dispute over $1,611. The result, however, will carry a much higher price, affecting millions of dollars now collected from criminal defendants who must pay to keep the heat turned up, the air conditioners humming and the floors waxed in local courts all over the state.

The Legislature and Gov. Rick Snyder have given local governments sweeping authority to put a portion of court operating costs on the backs of people convicted of crimes, often the poor. The question for the Supreme Court on Monday is whether the law is an illegal tax.

Counties, prosecutors and the attorney general’s office are urging the Supreme Court to keep the money flowing. On the other side is an alliance of defense lawyers and judges who call the practice unconstitutional. Many District Court judges, who are on the front line of Michigan’s justice system, handling traffic tickets and drunken-driving cases, say they’re pressured to hit financial targets or face consequences, including cuts in staff.

“Judges who determine innocence or guilt of an individual, with the ability to impose jail, should not be forced to think about bringing in finances for the court and county from these defendants,” said Maria Ladas Hoopes, a judge at Muskegon County’s District Court, who calls it an “inherent ethical dilemma.”