Research Archives - Page 12 of 42 - Fines and Fees Justice Center

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 …

The Hidden Costs of Pretrial Detention Revisited

Using data from over 1 million people booked into a jail in Kentucky between 2009 and 2018, this study investigates the relationship between pretrial detention and failure to appear, rearrest, …

Civil Assessments: The Hidden Court Fee That Penalizes Poverty

California allows courts to charge a civil assessment fee of up to $300 to people who miss a deadline to pay or appear in court. An estimated 300,000 people receive …

Spiraling Criminal Debt

North Carolina in recent decades moved to a user- fee model allowing courts to impose any number of fines and fees when a criminal case is resolved through a plea …

Resolve Traffic Debt: Advocate Toolkit

North Carolina automatically suspends a person’s driver’s license for failure to pay court fees or fines for a motor vehicle offense. Approximately 300,000 North Carolinians have long-term driver’s license suspensions …

Sentenced to a Life of Debt: It Is Time for a Reassessment of How Bankruptcy Law Intersects with Fines and Fees to Keep People in Debt

Court debt has generally been excluded from the fresh start bankruptcy provides, despite the disproportionate and devastating impacts on those who cannot afford to pay. This article reviews the provisions …

The New Due Process: Fairness in a Fee-Driven State

Courts, prosecutors, and law enforcement work together to assess and collect fines, fees, and forfeitures that fund the justice system – a conflict of interest and a violation of due …

The High Cost of a Fresh Start: A State by State Analysis of Court Debt as a Bar to Record Clearing

A criminal record can make it hard to get a job, support a family, secure housing, vote, and ultimately pay off fines and fees. Despite efforts by states to provide …