New to Clearinghouse Archives - Page 3 of 19 - Fines and Fees Justice Center

Understanding Victim Experiences with Restitution: Research Toolkit

Restitution reform has largely remained outside of the scope of fines and fees reform due to both differing rationales and intended recipients. This toolkit helps jurisdictions identify how data and …

People in WA Prisons Pay Millions in Fees. Most of It Isn’t Being Used

The Washington Department of Correction manages an “Incarcerated Individual Betterment Fund,” which is funded by fees collected from incarcerated people. Although the fund is intended to improve the welfare of …

Ability to Pay: Closing the Access to Justice Gap with Policy Solutions for Unaffordable Fines and Fees

Financial circumstances heavily influence an individual’s access to justice, especially when it comes to the fines and fees imposed by the justice system. These costs contribute to a two-tiered justice …

How Fines and Fees Impact Family Well-Being

Fines and fees, imposed at every level of the criminal legal system, significantly affect the well-being of families. Using data from the Urban Institute’s 2023 Well-Being and Basic Needs Survey, …

The Jefferson County Equitable Fines and Fees Project: Preliminary Findings on Fairness and Efficacy

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 …

Low-Income Kansans Are Going Into Debt Because Unpaid Traffic Tickets Rack up Interest

In Kansas, low-income individuals fall deeper into debt due to unpaid traffic tickets that accrue interest over time. When these fines remain unpaid, they are often transferred to private collection …

Health, Access to Care, and Financial Barriers to Care Among People Incarcerated in US Prisons

Prison residents often come from communities with high poverty and poor health. More than 60 percent of prison residents in the United States have a chronic physical condition and more …

The Long-Term Impact of Debt Relief For Indigent Defendants in a Misdemeanor Court

A follow-up study to Criminalizing Poverty: The Consequences of Court Fees in a Randomized Experiment, confirms what many have long argued—court fines and fees do not deter crime. Instead, they …

In the Rearview Mirror: St. Louis’s Municipal Courts After a Decade of Reform and Regress

Ten years ago, the death of Michael Brown ignited the Ferguson Uprising, bringing to light systemic injustices in municipal courts across St. Louis County. In the wake of this tragedy, …

A National Study on the Effect of Supervision Fees on Probation Agency Operations Technical Report

Monetary sanctions are widely scrutinized across the United States, but community supervision fees remain underexplored. To fill this gap, the Utah Criminal Justice Center (UCJC) collaborated with the National Institute …