New to Clearinghouse Archives - Fines and Fees Justice Center

City of Grants Pass v. Johnson

Issue Does the Eighth Amendment’s Cruel and Unusual Punishment Clause prohibit municipalities from enforcing generally applicable laws regulating sleeping and camping on public property? Holding In a 6-3 ruling, the …

Hidden Price of Justice: Fines and Fees in DC’s Criminal Legal System

The use of criminal legal fines and fees to to fill state and local budgetary gaps has deep roots in a history of anti-Black racism. That history is evident in …

Estimating Earnings Impact of Driver’s Licence Revocations in North Carolina

In North Carolina, a driver’s license can be revoked for failure to pay court ordered monetary obligations and failure to appear in court. Millions of people rely on their licenses …

Chicago Speed Cameras Fines Motorists over $102 million on 2023

In 2013, Chicago began issuing fines to motorists captured driving in excess of the speed limit. Since then, speed cameras have generated $879 million for the city, sending 9,132,409 tickets …

Predation and the Disproportionate Risk of Driver’s License Suspensions in Economically and Racially Marginalized Communities

Driver’s license suspensions for non-safety reasons such as failure to appear or failure to pay exploit vulnerable groups in order to fill state and local budgets. Analyzing Department of Motor …

The Cost of Justice: In Indiana, Legal Fines and Fees Are Determined by Where You Live

Monetary sanctions can prevent intergenerational wealth through the seizure of property, assets, and accounts, and the collateral consequences they perpetuate are often overlooked. People involved in the criminal legal system …

Locked In, Priced Out: How Prison Commissary Price-Gouging Preys on The Incarcerated

Prison commissaries nationwide are exploitative and inconsistent in their pricing. The Appeal underwent a nine-month investigation to collect commissary prices and markups from 46 states. People in prison make pennies …

Redesigning Public Safety: Substance Use

Many people who use drugs are also involved in the criminal legal system and have to pay fines and fees. Fines are often used to deter and punish drug use, …

Locked In, Priced Out

Prison commissaries nationwide are inconsistent in their pricing. The Appeal underwent a nine-month investigation to collect commissary prices and markups from 46 states and created the first national database of …

In Debt Due to Your Own Arrest? The Truth About Fines & Fees

NowThis, in collaboration with Galaxy Gives and Reform Alliance, created a short video detailing how Americans face criminal justice debt. Americans face millions of dollars of debt each year from …