COVID-19 Crisis: Advocacy Materials
FFJC is compiling advocacy materials for organizations and community members across America who are working toward fines and fees policy changes in response to the coronavirus pandemic. Below, you can …
Advancing Financial Justice in San Francisco: The Experience and Lessons of the City’s Financial Justice Project
This paper summarizes the lessons, successes, and challenges of the San Francisco Financial Justice Project, especially concerning criminal justice fines and fees reform.
Kelvin Leon Jones et al. v. Ron DeSantis et al.
Background: Beginning in 1838, Florida’s constitution allowed the legislature to disenfranchise felons. Effective January 8, 2019, Amendment 4 of the Florida constitution added a provision automatically restoring the voting rights …
Framing the System of Monetary Sanctions as Predatory: Policies, Practices, and Motivations
This literature review surveys articles published in the University of California, Los Angeles Criminal Justice Law Review that discuss how court fines and fees may be viewed as predatory.
Maryland HB36: Juvenile Proceedings – Fines, Fees, and Costs
This bill eliminates the authority of Maryland courts to impose civil fines or court costs against a juvenile found delinquent.
Driving Toward Justice: How ending driver’s license suspensions for unpaid traffic tickets helps communities without impacting court collections
This brief describes reforms that were implemented after the San Francisco Superior Court’s decision to eliminate debt-based driver’s license suspensions.
Fines and Monetary Sanctions
Alexes Harris, the author of this research papers, discusses various criminal legal system fines and fees and argues that imposing these costs can worsen social inequality.
West Virginia House Bill 4958: Eliminating driver’s license suspension for failure to pay court fines and costs
This bill ends driver's license suspensions for unpaid fines and fees in West Virginia, and requires courts to develop uniform payment plans.
Virginia SB1: Driver’s license; suspension for nonpayment of fines or costs.
This bill ends driver’s license suspensions for unpaid fines and fees in Virginia and requires the Virginia DMV to reinstate suspended licenses.
Driven to Failure: An Empirical Analysis of Driver’s License Suspension in North Carolina
Through the analysis of four decades of individual and county level suspension data, this study describes North Carolina’s population of drivers whose licenses have been suspended and assesses how driver’s …