Not guilty but $500 in court costs (lawyer, cost, prison, medical)

[70Ford]

Return of the debtors' prison? Many still jailed for inability to pay fines | PBS NewsHour

Timothy’s wife, Kristy, had also gotten tickets for two traffic infractions and both were ordered to appear in the Childersburg municipal court. The Fugatts told the judge about their hospitalized son and were both found “not guilty”, as these court documents show. But the judge ruled that the two still had to pay “court costs” of about $500....

I've heard of something similar. It's where you can hire a lawyer to fight a fine and pay 2 times (or more) in lawyer's fees than the cost of the fine, so just go ahead and pay the fine. You might not even win, so you'd be out 3X or more the cash.

Fines are expensive. And the costs aren't just limited to the ticket.

[NJBest]

Did they file for appeal? Or did they just accept the debt? The story isn't clear. You can appeal court costs.

[freightshaker]

Or just tell the judge to lock you up until the $500 is paid through your incarceration. I told a Ca. judge that and informed him of all the medical procedures I needed to get done. He dismissed everything.. I had the case beat on its merits, but the court costs were going to be as much as the fine.