Bearden v. Georgia
1983 United States Supreme Court case / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Dear Wikiwand AI, let's keep it short by simply answering these key questions:
Can you list the top facts and stats about Bearden v. Georgia?
Summarize this article for a 10 year old
SHOW ALL QUESTIONS
Bearden v. Georgia, 461 U.S. 660 (1983), was a landmark[1][2] U.S. Supreme Court case holding that a local government can only imprison or jail someone for not paying a fine if it can be shown, by means of a hearing, that the person in question could have paid it but "willfully" chose not to do so.[3][4][5]: 232
Quick Facts Bearden v. Georgia, Argued January 11, 1983 Decided May 24, 1983 ...
Bearden v. Georgia | |
---|---|
Argued January 11, 1983 Decided May 24, 1983 | |
Full case name | Bearden v. Georgia |
Citations | 461 U.S. 660 (more) 103 S. Ct. 2064; 76 L. Ed. 2d 221; 1983 U.S. LEXIS 39 |
Case history | |
Prior | Bearden v. State, 161 Ga. App. 640, 288 S.E.2d 662 (Ct. App. 1982); cert. granted, 458 U.S. 1105 (1982). |
Holding | |
A sentencing court cannot properly revoke a defendant's probation for failure to pay a fine and make restitution, absent evidence and findings that he was somehow responsible for the failure or that alternative forms of punishment were inadequate to meet the State's interest in punishment and deterrence, and hence the trial court erred in automatically revoking petitioner's probation and turning the fine into a prison sentence without making such a determination. | |
Court membership | |
| |
Case opinions | |
Majority | O'Connor, joined by Brennan, Marshall, Blackmun, Stevens |
Concurrence | White (in judgment), joined by Burger, Powell, Rehnquist |
Laws applied | |
U.S. Const. amend. XIV |
Close