AL HB 200
The Alabama legislature recently introduced a bill that would prohibit driver’s license suspensions for failure to pay a fine, fee, court cost or restitution imposed as a result of a …
Measuring the Impact of Suspended Licenses on State Tax Revenue
Alabama law permits the suspension of driver’s licenses for failure to pay fines, fees, or court costs. Per suspended license, it is estimated that the state expects to collect a …
Life On An Ankle Monitor In Alabama: $10 A Day and ‘Inevitable Imperfections
Many state and local governments have shifted the cost of incarceration from the government onto the person being monitored. In 2020, Brittany Smith pleaded guilty for the murder of a …
Police In This Tiny Alabama Town Suck Drivers Into Legal ‘Black Hole’
Brookside, a small town in Alabama with 1,253 residents and six miles of roads to patrol, has more than doubled its town’s income as fines and forfeitures rose 640 percent …
Carter v. Montgomery
Hundreds of individuals were assessed fines by the Montgomery Municipal Court for misdemeanors, primarily traffic tickets like driving with a suspended license and other low-level crimes of poverty. When they …
Examining the Intersection Between Criminal Justice and Financial Services in the Deep South
The text discusses the financial burdens and barriers to financial stability faced by people after they are released from prison.
Flattened: How the COVID-19 Pandemic Knocked Financially Insecure Alabamians on their Backs and Widened the Racial Prosperity Gap
Between May and September 2020, Alabamaba Applesseed and partners surveyed 389 financially insecure Alabamaians. The authors documented how daily lives and financial circumstances changed for respondents since March 13, 2020, …
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.
Cook v. Taylor
This class action alleges that Alabama’s driver’s license suspension practices violate equal protection and due process because people are being punished without any determination of their ability to pay.
Catherine Harper, et al v. Professional Probation Services, Inc.
Defendants in the Gardendale Municipal Court are placed on probation when they are unable to pay court fines and fees in full. Professional Probation Services, Inc. (PPS) is the sole probation provider through a contract with the City and the Municipal Court judge. PPS charges a $40 monthly fee which is paid before the court’s fines and fees.