Research Archives - Page 4 of 45 - Fines and Fees Justice Center

Reframing The Debate on Legal Financial Obligations and Crime: How Accruing Monetary Sanctions Impacts Recidivism

As the use of legal financial obligations (LFOs) continues to grow, researchers have identified a need to better understand the long-term impacts on justice-involved individuals. Using data on monetary sanctions, …

A National Study on the Effect of Supervision Fees on Probation Agency Operations Technical Report

Monetary sanctions are widely scrutinized across the United States, but community supervision fees remain underexplored. To fill this gap, the Utah Criminal Justice Center (UCJC) collaborated with the National Institute …

Hidden Price of Justice: Fines and Fees in DC’s Criminal Legal System

The use of criminal legal fines and fees to to fill state and local budgetary gaps has deep roots in a history of anti-Black racism. That history is evident in …

Eliminate justice-related fees and invest in Oklahoma’s justice system

Oklahoma’s reliance on court-imposed fines and fees as a funding mechanism for its criminal justice system disproportionately harms justice-involved individuals, especially those with low incomes. This approach places a significant …

Wilmington Fines and Fees Task Force Findings and Recommendations

Lower-income residents in Wilmington face financial hardship as the costs and fees from the city rise. In 2022, the Wilmington City Council created the Fines and Fees Task Force to …

Racial Disparities in Use of Force at Traffic Stops

Millions of traffic stops occur nationwide for reasons unrelated to safety. Officers not only use traffic stops as a pretext to conduct a search or investigate for other crimes but …

Estimating Earnings Impact of Driver’s License Revocations in North Carolina

In North Carolina, a driver’s license can be revoked for failure to pay court ordered monetary obligations and failure to appear in court. Millions of people rely on their licenses …

Playing Politics With Traffic Fines: Sheriff Elections and Political Cycles in Traffic Fines Revenue

The political budget cycle theory is the idea that elected officials change how they manage public money in the period immediately before elections to improve their chances of getting reelected. …

Predation and the Disproportionate Risk of Driver’s License Suspensions in Economically and Racially Marginalized Communities

Driver’s license suspensions for non-safety reasons such as failure to appear or failure to pay exploit vulnerable groups in order to fill state and local budgets. Analyzing Department of Motor …

The Cost of Justice: In Indiana, Legal Fines and Fees Are Determined by Where You Live

Monetary sanctions can prevent intergenerational wealth through the seizure of property, assets, and accounts, and the collateral consequences they perpetuate are often overlooked. People involved in the criminal legal system …