Research Archives - Page 26 of 43 - Fines and Fees Justice Center

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.

The Explosion of Unpaid Criminal Fines and Fees in North Carolina

The amount of debt owed to North Carolina’s criminal courts has increased at a staggering rate. This report gives a scope of how much debt is uncollectible, identifies the people in the state most harmed by the current system, and pinpoints the case types that yield the lion’s share of this debt.

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.

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 …

The Crippling Costs of the Juvenile Justice System: A Legal and Policy Argument for Elimination Fines and Fees for Youth Offenders

Across the country, youth and their families, many in poverty, face monetary charges for their involvement in the juvenile justice system, and the consequences can be devastating. In this article, …

Debt Bondage: How Private Collection Agencies Keep the Formerly Incarcerated Tethered to the Criminal Justice System

In Washington, the clerk of courts can transfer the legal financial obligations of incarcerated people to a private debt collection agency if they are thirty days late making a payment. …

Driving While Black and Latinx: Stops, Fines, Fees, and Unjust Debts

This paper presents data suggesting that Black, Latinx, and poor people in New York disproportionately suffer the consequences of driver’s license suspensions due to traffic ticket debt and racially disproportionate traffic enforcement.

In Trouble: How the Promise of Diversion Clashes With The Reality of Poverty, Addiction, And Structural Racism In Alabama’s Justice System

This Alabama Appleseed report stems from a survey of 1,011 justice-involved Alabamians. The author provides recommendations for lawmakers, programs, and courts to follow to improve the effectiveness and fairness of diversion.

Re-Prioritizing Traffic Stops To Reduce Motor Vehicle Crash Outcomes and Racial Disparities

In 2010, Fayetteville, North Carolina, experienced a high motor vehicle crash rate while also combating eroding community trust in police. At the request of their newly appointed Chief Harold Medlock, …

Michigan Joint Task Force on Jail and Pretrial Incarceration Report and Recommendations

Michigan’s jail population has tripled from 1975 to 2016. To learn what led to this dramatic increase and identify alternatives, state and county leaders launched the Michigan Joint Task Force …