Research Archives - Page 12 of 43 - Fines and Fees Justice Center

A Debt of Care: Commercial Bail and the Gendered Logic of Criminal Justice Predation

Commercial bail extracts millions of dollars from justice-involved individuals and their families every year, but little research exists on the inner working and operational processes of the bail industry. Associate …

475,106 Mistakes: When Tickets are Issued Under False Pretenses

In Chicago, many parking restrictions change according to space, time, and weather factors, resulting in the issuance of erroneous tickets. A review of nearly 3.6 million tickets, cross-examined with administrative …

50 State Survey: Probation and Parole Fees

A state-by-state look at the scope of probation and parole supervision fees, programming fees, and consequences for failure to pay.

Small Fines And Fees, Large Impacts: Ability-To-Pay Hearings

Excessive fines and fees on low-income people threaten our criminal justice system and violate the Constitution’s Due Process and Excessive Fines Clauses. The Fourteenth and Eighth amendment requires courts to …

The Criminalization Of Poverty In Tennessee

14 percent of Tennessee’s population lives below the poverty line, and while communities faced unaffordable housing costs, unemployment, and inadequate public transportation, counties used public funds to expand jails. From …

North Carolina Court Appearance Project

In North Carolina, nonappearance for a court case can lead to driver’s license suspension, an order for arrest, and jail time. Nearly 250,000 court appearances are missed annually in North …

Taking on Traffic Laws: A How-To Guide for Decriminalizing Mobility

Policy, planning, and funding decisions have left primarily Black and low-income communities without safe infrastructure for biking and walking and created conditions forcing people to make choices that cities have …

Debt-Based License Suspensions: Drivers of Poverty and Incarceration

Jurisdictions nationwide suspend driver’s licenses for nonpayment of fines and fees unrelated to traffic safety. The suspensions pose significant challenges for the approximately 11 million Americans affected, particularly those in …

Estimating the Earnings Loss Associated With a Criminal Record and Suspended Driver’s License

Contact with the criminal legal system and sanctions such as driver’s license suspensions can result in limited employment opportunities and have lifelong impacts on a person’s potential earnings. To advance …

Race Representation and Revenue: Reliance on Fines and Forfeitures in City Governments

The Department of Justice’s Ferguson report suggests cities with a higher population of Black people and an overrepresentation of White people in their law enforcement agencies levy fines at higher …