''Williams v. Illinois'', 399 U.S. 235 (1970), was a
United States Supreme Court
The Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) is the highest court in the federal judiciary of the United States. It has ultimate appellate jurisdiction over all U.S. federal court cases, and over state court cases that involve a point o ...
case in which the Court held that, if a person cannot afford to pay a fine, it violates the
Equal Protection Clause
The Equal Protection Clause is part of the first section of the Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution. The clause, which took effect in 1868, provides "''nor shall any State ... deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal ...
to convert that unpaid fine into jail time to extend a person's incarceration beyond a statutory maximum length.
The syllabus of the case stated:
A companion case, ''Morris v. Schoonfield'',
[399 U.S. 508 (1970).] was "remanded for reconsideration in light of intervening Maryland legislation and decision in ''Williams''".
See also
*''
Bearden v. Georgia'', 461 U.S. 660 (1983)
*''
Tate v. Short'', 401 U.S. 395 (1971)
References
External links
*
{{SCOTUS-stub
1970 in United States case law
United States equal protection case law
United States Supreme Court cases
United States Supreme Court cases of the Burger Court