As usual, it’s legal sleight of hand and word games. You go into debt, they eventually file a lawsuit, you don’t show up because you’re too broke and depressed, and now you’ve got a bench warrant against you. Next time you’re pulled over for any driving infraction, you go straight to jail. Want to get out of jail before the trial on your earlier non-appearance charge? Well what do you know, the bail amount is exactly what you owed the original creditor.
Ah here we go, I knew I had seen a thread here on it earlier
In Illinois and southwest Indiana, some judges jail debtors for missing court-ordered debt payments. In extreme cases, people stay in jail until they raise a minimum payment. In January, a judge sentenced a Kenney, Ill., man “to indefinite incarceration” until he came up with $300 toward a lumber yard debt.
“The law enforcement system has unwittingly become a tool of the debt collectors,” said Michael Kinkley, an attorney in Spokane, Wash., who has represented arrested debtors. “The debt collectors are abusing the system and intimidating people, and law enforcement is going along with it.”
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-bloggers/2536331/posts
IOW, you are jailed for not showing up in court. That actually makes sense.