As Court Fees Rise, The Poor Are Paying The Price
Many government services in the criminal justice system, which were once free, are now charged to defendants, many of which are low-income individuals who cannot afford them. By the 1980s, …
State-By-State Court Fees
This national survey identified the states that charge people fees for electronic monitoring, probation or supervision, public defender and legal costs, and other criminal justice system services.
The Burden of Criminal Justice Debt in Alabama
Foster Cook’s report includes quantitative and qualitative survey results from 943 participants from 13 counties in Alabama. The report includes information about the collateral consequences of increased court costs on incarcerated people in Alabama, including harsh penalties for nonpayment and the phenomenon of defendants turning to crime as a funding source to pay their fines and fees.
Legal Financial Obligations: Fulfilling the Promise of Gideon by Reducing the Burden
Stearns examines the imposition and enforcement of Legal Financial Obligations (LFOs) in Washington State on people unable to pay them and argues that the resulting disparities impact the ability of the criminal justice system to impose fair and meaningful penalties that hold people accountable and reduce recidivism.
Best Practices Guide to Reducing Suspended Drivers
This guide by the American Association of Motor Vehicle Administrators discusses how suspending driver’s licenses for non-safety related reasons is ineffective and counter-productive: it diminishes the deterrent effect and perceived legitimacy of license suspension, as well as the efficacy of law enforcement, prosecutors, courts, and motor vehicle agencies.
Shadow Citizens: Felony Disenfranchisement and The Criminalization of Debt
Many states infringe on individuals’ rights to vote; nearly 5.58 million Americans have lost the right to vote due to criminal convictions–many of them people of color and the poor. …
The Price To Call Home: State-Sanctioned Monopolization In The Prison Phone Industry
The monopolization of the prison phone industry has resulted in exorbitant prison phone call prices with companies promising to pay kickbacks to the state prison system in order to win …
Report on the Results of the Arizona Judiciary Pilot Collections Project
This Arizona collections pilot program aimed to test whether a temporary reduction in fine amounts might increase court revenues.
On Cash and Conviction: Monetary Sanctions as Misguided Policy
Legal financial obligations (LFO) used to supplement rather than replace other punishments, have resulted in legal debt for millions of mainly poor residents. In this paper, the authors argue that …
In For A Penny- The Rise of America’s New Debtors’ Prisons
This publication uses personal accounts of people in five different states who struggled to pay their court debt to illustrate the negative effects of debtors’ prisons on individuals, the economy, and the justice system.