The Constitutionality of Government Fees as Applied to the Poor

The United States Supreme Court has frequently addressed the constitutionality of government fees that indigent persons cannot afford to pay, relying on due process or equal protection principles to decide these cases. The most recent decision by the Supreme Court involving this issue, M.L.B. v. S.L.J., 519 U.S. 102 (1996), relied on a confusing analysis of the applicable constitutional principles. This Article proposes that courts should apply the traditional equal protection analysis to decide this important constitutional issue in the future.