Wade v. Carsley

These appeals were consolidated for the purpose of argument. The appellants presented oral argument, although the State of Mississippi waived oral argument in each case. The Attorneys General of Alabama and Texas filed amicus curiae briefs in Wade, No. 27,953. Each appeal presents the question of whether a state violates federal constitutional rights by imposing imprisonment upon an indigent for inability to pay a validly-imposed fine when the additional impris*69onment extends the total detention beyond the maximum imprisonment prescribed by the state law for the offense. We withheld decision…