User:Trentsemler/sandbox

In late 2005, the City of Loveland, OH filed criminal charges against Deborah Combs for owing just $1.16 in back taxes. If convicted, Ms. Combs may have faced up to 18 months in jail and $4,000 in fines. While she did indeed owe the city in back taxes and fees, the case is cited as an example of extreme Retributive Justice, in that the punishment may have been too extreme for the crime.

Background

City officials alleged in early 2005 that Deborah Combs hadn’t filed city income tax returns for the previous five years.

Combs, who had been mostly unemployed since 2000, claimed that didn’t realize she had to file the returns until the city notified her in February 2005. Combs filed returns for 2001, 2002 and 2003 and was assessed $50 in late fees for each year even though her total tax liability was just $1.16.

"I'm not on welfare, and I'm trying to pull my own weight," Combs told Monday's Enquirer. "I struggle to keep up. I've just had one problem after another, and I simply couldn't afford to pay the fine yet."

City Manager at the time, Fred Enderle said that Deborah "is a flagrant offender. She’s been given ample opportunity and ample warning to file those returns and she chose to ignore them.″ Mr. Enderle resigned shortly after the case was dismissed.

Arrest

Deborah Combs was pulled over by a Hamilton County Sheriff Deputy and arrested in September of 2005, after allegedly ignoring letters asking her to file her return and pay $150 in penalties. In her hearing, Combs described the fear she experienced when pulled over, saying "they were very intimidating with their hands on their pistols. I was horrified and in a wooded area and didn't really know if they were cops."

Hearing

On October 20th of 2005, Combs entered a plea of Not Guilty at her hearing in Loveland Mayor's Court. Combs' defense attorneys requested that she be given a jury trial, and that the trial should be held in a Clermont County Court.

Dismissal

Hamilton County Municipal Court Judge Brad Greenberg, who was mayor of Loveland at the time, dismissed the case, saying it was not worth spending the thousands of dollars in legal fees to prosecute. The $200 in late fees assessed against Combs were waived.