Research Archives - Page 36 of 41 - Fines and Fees Justice Center

Confronting Criminal Justice Debt: The Urgent Need for Comprehensive Reform

This report is the first publication in a three-part series entitled “Confronting Criminal Justice Debt: A Comprehensive Project for Reform.” It provides an overview of the many types of fines and fees that the criminal justice system imposes and the collateral consequences that can result from them, with a particular emphasis on racial and economic disparities.

Confronting Criminal Justice Debt: A Guide for Policy Reform

This Guide for Policy Reform by Harvard Law School’s Criminal Justice Policy Program is organized into four issue areas: conflicts of interest, poverty penalties and poverty traps (when people are forced to pay more or face harsher sanctions because of their poverty), the ability-to-pay determination, and transparency and accountability. Under each of these sections, a description of the problem is followed by legislative, judicial, and executive reform suggestions for people at the state level to use and incorporate into their efforts.

Confronting Criminal Justice Debt: A Guide for Litigation

This guide aims to inform litigators about various strategies to defend and gain relief for individual clients burdened by criminal justice debt. It also serves to foster communication and understanding among stakeholders who work in this particular area of the justice system.

Exploitative Revenues, Law Enforcement, and the Quality of Government Service

This study uses US Census data and Uniform Crime Reporting data to assess whether law enforcement participation in revenue collection affects police departments’ ability to solve violent crime.

Report and Recommendations of the Task Force on Fair Justice for All: Court-Ordered Fines, Penalties, Fees, and Pretrial Release Policies

Arizona Chief Justice Scott Bales established Arizona’s Task Force on Fair Justice for All to recommend reforms for the state’s fines and fees procedures. The report consists of 11 principles and 53 corresponding recommendations.

A Fine Scheme: How Municipal Fines Become Crushing Debt in the Shadow of the New Debtors’ Prison

As budgets tighten, municipalities have turned to fines and fees to fill empty coffers. The result is that the rich may walk away, while the poor must pay or stay.

Protecting vs. Policing: Indigent Defendants in Rhode Island’s Court Debt Collection Regime

This thesis paper investigates who is being jailed in Rhode Island for outstanding court debt, the impact of the 2008 legislative reforms, and the effects incarceration has on people’s lives.

Stopped, Fined, Arrested: Racial Bias in Policing and Traffic Courts in California

In California, Black and Latino drivers are more likely to have their licenses suspended or be arrested for driving with a suspended license. This report examines the stark racial and …

Disenfranchised by Debt

This report discusses how criminal disenfranchisement laws prevent millions of people from regaining the right to vote because they cannot afford criminal legal fines and fees.

High Pain, No Gain: How Juvenile Administrative Fees Harm Low-Income Families in Alameda County, California

At the time this report was written, by California law, counties were authorized to recoup the costs of their juvenile justice systems by charging administrative fees to juvenile defendants and their families. This policy report takes a close look at Alameda County’s system of administrative fees.