Debt Sentence: How Fines And Fees Hurt Working Families
This report shares the results of a national survey of over 5,600 adults to see how court-imposed fines and fees affect people across the country.
How Fines and Fees Impact Families: Can Policies like the Child Tax Credit Help?
Low-income families burdened by court-imposed financial penalties often turn to high cost predatory services or forgo basic needs to avoid further legal consequences for nonpayment. In 2021, the Child Tax …
Memorandum: Total Cost of Three Selected Categories of Unpaid Fines and Charges in New York City
Over $2 billion of unpaid penalties from a six-year period is due to New York City. The Independent Budget Office (IBO) calculated the total amount of unpaid fines and charges …
Arrested Mobility: Barriers To Walking, Biking, And E-Scooter Use In Black Communities In The United States
Inequitable infrastructure investment has created mobility obstacles and racially discriminatory policing in transportation for Black Americans and people of color. Although more than half of the nation’s most dangerous streets …
SMH: The Rapid & Unregulated Growth of E‑messaging in Prisons
Text-based electronic messaging or “e-massaging,” not to be confused with emailing, has exploded in the past decade. At least 43 state prison systems and the Federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP) …
Punishing the Poor: An Assessment of the Administration of Fines and Fees in New Mexico Misdemeanor Courts
Low-income people in New Mexico accused of minor crimes are often caught in a vicious cycle where they are jailed because they can’t afford to pay monetary sanctions. In 2018, …
Stepping on the Gas: Accelerating Florida’s Growth by Restoring the Freedom to Drive
Introduction If you’re a hard-working, safe driver who’s struggling to make a fine or fee payment, Florida can take your license and, with it, your ability to drive and work. …
A Statewide Analysis of the Impact of Restitution and Fees on Juvenile Recidivism in Florida Across Race & Ethnicity
Introduction Every young person who comes into contact with Florida’s courts — regardless of guilt or innocence — is saddled with fees. Florida law authorizes 31 different court fees, costs …
Police Killings and Municipal Reliance on Fine-and-Fee Revenue
Between 2016 and 2021, more than 400 unarmed people were killed by police during traffic stops. In addition, metropolitan areas that rely more on revenue from fines and fees experience …
Interim Survey Results: The Impact of New Mexico’s Fines and Fees
FFJC took a mixed-methods research approach to understand the burden of fines and fees on economically vulnerable New Mexicans. FFJC New Mexico, in partnership with the New Mexico Advisory Board on Fines and Fees and ACLU New Mexico, administered a state-wide survey to gather data on New Mexicans’ experiences with court debt and the state’s criminal fine and fee system.