State Attorney General Opposes Debtor Arrest Warrants

By aaroncynic in News on Nov 23, 2011 8:40PM

Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan plans to push judges to refuse requests by lawyers representing debt collection agencies to issue arrest warrants for people who owe money on credit cards, loans and other debts.

“We can no longer allow debt collectors to pervert the courts,” said Madigan, according to the Wall Street Journal.

Even though the U.S. abolished imprisonment for unpaid debts on a federal level in 1833, more than a third of states allow debtors to be jailed. Madigan said the practice is “flourishing statewide” in Illinois.

Such warrants are typically issued when an individual fails to show up in court after being sued for unpaid debts, or does not make payments after a judge has ordered so. Often, borrowers sometimes do not even know they have been sued, thanks to incomplete or improperly submitted paperwork. The debt collection industry, however, maintains the practice is used as more of a threat. Mark Schiffman, a spokesman for the Association of Credit and Collection Professionals said “Debt collectors aren't advocating for debtors' arrests.”

While Madigan cannot force a judge to refuse to sign a debt-related arrest warrant, she predicts judges will agree with her. With an economy still circling the drain and millions of Americans in debt, it’s hard to see how they wouldn’t.