Local Policy Guide: Reforming Debt-Based Driver’s License Suspensions at the Local Level
This guide is designed to give local leaders the tools, process and resources they need to reform debt-based driving restrictions at the local level.
Equitable Approaches to Municipal Fines and Fees
The assessment and collection of fines and fees can have wide-ranging harmful consequences, particularly for Black and Latino people who are more likely to be targeted by the criminal justice …
Show Me The Money: Tracking The Companies That Have a Lock on Sending Funds to Incarcerated People
To pay for the everyday costs of being incarcerated, family members historically sent money orders to prisons, the amounts which would be added to the recipient’s trust account one to …
Blood From a Stone: How New York Prisons Force People To Pay For Their Own Incarceration
The prison system amplifies the lack of commissary access to basic needs and telecommunications for the most disadvantaged people in prison and drains financial resources from them and their families. …
Elimination of Cash Bail In Illinois: Financial Impact Analysis
As of January 2023, Illinois courts can longer require cash bail for criminal defendants. Previously, courts would deduct fines, fees, and assessments from bond payments and retain 10 percent of …
Effect of Juvenile Justice Fee Repeal on Financial Sanctions Borne by Families
As momentum for reforming the monetary justice system has grown, juvenile justice advocates have called for the abolition of monetary sanctions. However, previous research has not examined the financial impact …
The True Cost of Criminal Justice Debt: Examining the Public Health Implications of Legal Financial Obligations
Public health experts have identified criminal justice debt as a social and environmental factor impacting individuals’ and their families’ physical and mental health. Low-income individuals who are disproportionately represented in …
More Harm than Good: Building a more Just Fine and Fee System in California
Fines and fees push many low-income, Black, and Latinx California families into debt, cutting into their ability to meet basic needs. Researchers estimate that there is at least $10 billion …
Reducing Suspended Drivers and Alternative Reinstatement Best Practices Edition 3
At its inception, driver’s license suspension aimed to address poor driving behavior. However, its current use extends beyond highway safety concerns and encompasses non-highway safety obligations. Drivers can have their …
Set Up to Fail: How Court Fines & Fees Punish Poverty and Harm Black Communities in Virginia
Virginia’s courts impose millions of dollars of debt from fines and fees that excessively burden Black Virginians. Through an analysis of five years of data from the State Compensation Board …