Colorado Archives - Fines and Fees Justice Center

Identifying Drivers of Absconding

To identify the factors that drive parole and probation revocations, the Crime and Justice Institute, conducted a comprehensive assessment of community supervision policies and practices in Colorado, Florida, Mississippi, and …

Unrepresented and Unseen: A Closer Look at the Harmful Impacts of Municipal COurts on Youth, Families

With over 215 municipal courts, each year thousands of Colorado youth and their families become involved in the municipal court system, often through tickets for school based offenses. Despite this, …

“Another Place to Warehouse People”: The State Where Halfway Houses Are a Revolving Door to Prison

In Colorado, about 50 percent of people return to prison within three years of release–one of the worst recidivism rates in the country. The 26 state-funded halfway houses meant to …

Why We Need to Stop Suspending and Revoking Driver’s Licenses Due to Debt

The Prosperity Now Scorecard rates states on their progress toward racial economic justice in several policy areas. The 2022 policy update includes an assessment of which states have ended the …

Colorado House Bill 21-1314

Colorado passed a bill repealing the authority of the Department of Revenue to cancel, renew or reinstate a driver’s license for failure to pay an outstanding monetary judgement. The bill also prohibits …

Colorado HB21-1315: Concerning eliminating certain monetary amounts a juvenile in the justice system is required to pay.

Colorado recently passed a bill that eliminates a number of costs and fees that a juvenile and their families were previously required to pay. The bill also discharges all outstanding …

Reckless Lawmaking: How Debt-Based Driver’s License Suspension Laws Impose Harm and Waste Resources

This report examines the impacts of suspending driver’s licenses as a consequence of unpaid fines and fees and failure to appear in court. 16 individuals who had their license suspended …

Howard v. The City and County of Denver, Colorado

To be released from jail in Denver, a person must pay the bond and the bond fee. Payment of the bond alone is insufficient to secure the release.

Justice Derailed: A case study of abusive and unconstitutional practices in Colorado city courts

This case study of municipal courts in Colorado is based on a multi-year ACLU investigation which revealed that despite a bipartisan reform effort in the state legislature, many of Colorado’s municipal courts persistently ignore both constitutional standards and state law and continue to employ practices that punish defendants for their poverty.

Nelson v. Colorado

The question before the U.S. Supreme Court was whether the State is required to return court fines and fees paid upon conviction when the conviction is reversed on appeal. Both Petitioners’ convictions were reversed on appeal, and they sought a refund of the fines and fees they paid.