Jailing The Poor: Court Debt And Incarceration In RI
This policy brief describes how often people in Rhode Island are jailed for nonpayment of court fines and fees and barriers to repayment.
The Assessment and Consequences of Legal Financial Obligations in Washington State
To develop an understanding of how fines and fees are imposed and enforced in Washington State, this study analyzes 50 interviews with Washington State residents as well as data from 3,366 Washington Superior Court cases.
Court Debt and Related Incarceration in Rhode Island from 2005 through 2007
Rhode Island’s most frequent cause of incarceration is court debt, which not only causes inefficient use of state finances, but disrupts people’s lives. To determine the extent to which incarceration …
Driver’s License Suspensions, Impacts and Fairness Study
This report relays findings from a study about the effects of driver’s license suspensions in New Jersey. For years, license suspensions have been imposed on motorists for reasons unrelated to public safety (i.e. to enforce payment of fines and fees), and this research suggests that residents of urban and low-income neighborhoods are more vulnerable to suspension than others.
Sentencing for Dollars: The Financial Consequences of a Criminal Conviction
This working paper details the collateral consequences of fines and fees in New York and highlights how the conflicting goals of assessing fines and fees – punishment as well as the need for revenue – can threaten criminal justice system outcomes and disproportionately impact marginalized communities.
Action Plan for the Justice Courts
This report from the New York State Unified Court System is an effort to comprehensively review and improve the administration of New York’s 1,277 town and village courts, with a particular focus on cost effectiveness and efficiency.
A Fine Is A Price
This article discusses the findings of a study which investigated the effect of imposing and eliminating fines on parents who were late picking up their children from daycare.
The Staten Island Day-Fine Project
This publication describes the implementation and effects of the means-adjusted fines pilot program conducted by the Criminal Court of Staten Island, New York.