Williams v. Illinois

Williams v. Illinois, 399 U.S. 235 (1970), was a United States Supreme Court case in which the Court held that, if a person cannot afford to pay a fine, it violates equal protection to convert that unpaid fine into jail time to extend a person's incarceration beyond a statutory maximum length.[1]

Williams v. Illinois
Supreme Court of the United States
Argued April 22, 1970 Decided June 29, 1970
Full case name	Williams v. Illinois
Citations	399 U.S. 235 (more) 90 S. Ct. 2018; 26 L. Ed. 2d 586
Holding
If a person cannot afford to pay a fine, it violates equal protection to convert that unpaid fines into jail time to extend a person's incarceration beyond a statutory maximum length.
Court membership
Chief Justice Warren E. Burger Associate Justices Hugo Black · William O. Douglas John M. Harlan II · William J. Brennan Jr. Potter Stewart · Byron White Thurgood Marshall · Harry Blackmun
Case opinions
Majority	Burger, joined by Black, Douglas, Brennan, Stewart, White, Marshall, Blackmun
Concurrence	Harlan

See also

• Bearden v. Georgia
• Tate v. Short

References

1. Williams v. Illinois, 399 U.S. 235 (1970).

External links

• Text of Williams v. Illinois, 399 U.S. 235 (1970) is available from:  Cornell  CourtListener  Findlaw  Justia  Library of Congress  Oyez (oral argument audio)