Recommended Archives - Page 24 of 30 - Fines and Fees Justice Center

Davidson County District Attorney declines to prosecute driving on a suspended license where underlying suspension is for unpaid fines and fees

In Tennessee, Davidson County District Attorney Glenn Funk announced that he will stop prosecuting driver's license violations that result from failure to pay fines and fees, such as driving on a suspended license. His office predicts that this policy change could keep 12,000 charges out of Nashville courtrooms over the next year.

Ten Guidelines on Court Fines and Fees

The American Bar Association developed ten guidelines to ensure that fines and fees do not punish people disproportionately for their poverty.

The Price of Justice: The High Cost of “Free” Counsel for Youth in the Juvenile Justice System

This report documents that the families of children charged with crimes are forced to pay for the cost of legal counsel in all but 10 U.S. states – despite the Constitution’s guarantee that young people who are indigent are entitled to court-appointed counsel.

Orleans Parish Juvenile Court Standing Policy on Juvenile Administrative Fees

In the summer of 2018, New Orleans became the first city in the South to abolish fees charged to youth involved in the juvenile justice system.

Order Authorizing Immediate Release of Defendants Arrested on Municipal Court Bench Warrants for Failure to Appear and Failure to Pay […]

In the summer of 2018, the top judge in Middlesex County, NJ ordered the release of individuals who were arrested and detained for failure to appear in municipal court over low-level offenses, like failure to pay parking tickets.

Report of the New Jersey Supreme Court Committee on Municipal Court Operations, Fines, and Fees

This report is a result of a comprehensive review of New Jersey municipal courts by the Supreme Court Committee on Municipal Court Operations, Fines, and Fees.

Hate speed traps and tickets? These people are fighting back.

Doraville, Georgia, a 10,000-person suburb of Atlanta, has become notorious for its revenue-generating speed traps and housing code enforcement cases.

Monetary Myopia: An Examination of Institutional Response to Revenue From Monetary Sanctions for Misdemeanors

This study assesses the use of fines and fees for misdemeanor crimes in Nevada and Iowa to highlight the perverse incentives embedded in the practice of using courts as revenue centers. The article proposes the concept of “monetary myopia,” or a short-sighted focus on revenue at the expense of other concerns, to explain the states’ behavior.

Criminal Justice Administrative Fees: High Pain for People, Low Gain for Government. A Call to Action for California Counties.

In 2017, the San Francisco Public Defender’s Office, Financial Justice Project, and Mayor’s Office of Budget and Public Policy studied the collateral consequences of criminal justice administrative fees on San Franciscans. Their findings were published in this report, which also coincides with 2018 San Francisco County legislation that abolished all discretionary fees imposed by the county.

New York City Intro 0741-2018: Telephone services to inmates.

In August 2018, New York City Council passed Intro 0741, making NYC the first U.S. city to agree to make all phone calls free for people who are incarcerated in city jails.