The average outstanding LFO balance exceeded $900 per person.
Local governments impose legal financial obligations (LFOs) on individuals convicted of traffic violations, misdemeanors, and felonies. The Jefferson County Equitable Fines and Fees (JEFF) Project studied over 8,000 felony and misdemeanor cases from 2014 to 2019. Researchers used case-level data provided by Alabama’s Administrative Office of Courts, alongside interviews of stakeholders to uncover the impact of LFO practices in Jefferson County. The findings show that Black residents were disproportionately affected by LFOs. Despite making up 44 percent of the county’s population, 66 percent of defendants in the sample were Black. They also found that most were indigent. The JEFF Project concluded that LFOs in Jefferson County are inequitably distributed along racial lines and ineffective in generating expected revenue.
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Key Findings:
- 71 percent of individuals in the sample were indigent and represented by a public defender.
- On average, Black defendants were assessed higher LFOs than their white counterparts.
- Courts impose the D999 collection fee—a 30% penalty—on individuals with accounts overdue by 90 days.
- Most individuals did not satisfy their LFO balances during the five-year term of the sample.
- Court costs and fines take priority over victim compensation, making restitution the last payment to be addressed when defendants make payments towards their LFOs.