New to Clearinghouse Archives - Page 3 of 5 - Fines and Fees Justice Center

Agency-level Perceptions of Monetary Sanctions: Current Landscape and Impediments to Reform

Fines and fees are rarely analyzed from the perspective of the agency tasked with managing fine and fee debts. This study investigates how community corrections agencies perceive and implement monetary …

Considering the Process of Debt Collection in Community Corrections: The Case of the Monetary Compliance Unit

Before the creation of the monetary collection unit (MCU) in 2012, individuals with outstanding legal financial obligations (LFOs) from criminal cases faced a prolonged cycle of probation or parole supervision. …

Monetary Sanctions, Legal and Collateral Consequences, and Probation & Parole

Increasingly, jurisdictions have elevated their dependence on the offender-funded justice model, in which legal financial obligations (LFOs) have become prevalent. Regardless of their intended function, in the criminal justice system, …

Unveiling the Necrocapitalist Dimensions of the Shadow Carceral State: On Pay-to-Stay to Recoup the Cost of Incarceration

States and local jurisdictions across the United States impose pay-to-stay fees to generate revenue. Sociologist Brittany Friedman analyzes this practice using a necrocapitalism framework—a form of capitalism linked to death …

The Relationship Between Debt and Crime: A Systematic and Scoping Review

In a first of its kind, this study explores the relationship between debt and crime among adolescents and adults. The two-part study includes a systematic review of five studies that …

Local Government Dependence on Criminal Justice Revenue and Emerging Constraints

Across the nation, local governments use the criminal justice system to balance their budgets through fines, fees, costs, assessments, and forfeitures. Many have become dependent on criminal justice revenue to …

Debt, Incarceration, and Re-Entry: A Scoping Review

Justice-involved people and their families are heavily burdened by debt: legal financial obligations (LFO) from criminal justice involvement, pre-existing debt that compounded during incarceration, and debts accrued during reentry. This …

Overdue for Justice: An Assessment of Access to and Quality of Juvenile Defense Counsel in Michigan

Michigan’s constitution mandates that every young person receive legal representation, yet the state currently ranks 44th out of 50 in per capita indigent defense spending. The National Juvenile Defender Center …

The Crippling Costs of the Juvenile Justice System: A Legal and Policy Argument for Elimination Fines and Fees for Youth Offenders

Across the country, youth and their families, many in poverty, face monetary charges for their involvement in the juvenile justice system, and the consequences can be devastating. In this article, …

Debt Bondage: How Private Collection Agencies Keep the Formerly Incarcerated Tethered to the Criminal Justice System

In Washington, the clerk of courts can transfer the legal financial obligations of incarcerated people to a private debt collection agency if they are thirty days late making a payment. …