Judge Suspended Over Jailing of Indigent Defendants
A judicial discipline panel has suspended a Montgomery municipal judge for 11 months over the jailing of poor defendants who couldn’t pay fines.
The Alabama Court of the Judiciary announced the suspension Thursday of Montgomery Municipal Judge Armstead Lester Hayes III. The suspension came under an agreement Hayes reached with the Judicial Inquiry Commission which filed the complaint against him.
Hayes was accused of incarcerating traffic offenders for failing to pay fines and costs without first making a sufficient inquiry of their ability to pay.
Hayes was suspended when the charges were filed in November. He can return to the bench in October.
Sam Brooke of the Southern Poverty Law Center said the punishment should be a reminder that it is illegal to jail someone because they are poor.
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