Louisiana Archives - Fines and Fees Justice Center

This Louisiana Town Runs Largely on Traffic Fines. If You Fight Your Ticket, the Mayor Is Your Judge.

A Louisiana town that covers 20 blocks with only 226 residents has garnered national attention for its predatory reliance on fines and forfeitures. To make matters worse, Fenton is home …

Community Supervision Part 1: Fees and Fines

Financial penalties can serve as a barrier to successful rehabilitation and reentry. In addition to fines and restitution, probationers and parolees can be assessed supervision fees, court fees, technology fees, …

More than half of Louisiana’s Public Defender Offices in The Red After COVID Shuttered Courts

Public defense in Louisiana is reliant on unpredictable conviction and user fees for the bulk of its funding. For the fourth year in a row, public defense offices have run …

Louisiana HB 216: Provides relative to the imposition of court costs in proceedings involving children

Louisiana passed legislation prohibiting the authority of juvenile justice courts to assess costs in juvenile delinquency proceedings against a juvenile, their parents, or guardians. The provisions take effect beginning Jul …

Meade v. Bonin et al

When the Orleans Parish Criminal District Court (“OPCDC”) orders a defendant to sign up for ankle monitoring, the defendant must choose from three private ankle monitoring providers operating in Orleans …

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.

Price of Justice- Challenging the Future of Fines and Fees

This report summarizes the progress five states made in fines and fees reform, the challenges they experienced, and guidance for other jurisdictions interested in reforming their court systems.

Louisiana House Bill 48: Requires the uniform reporting by entities that assess, collect, or receive revenue from pre- or post-adjudication costs, fines, and fees

This bill requires uniform reporting by entities that assess, collect and receive revenue from pre or post adjudication costs, fines and fees. By the end of 2020, state and local …

Caliste v. Cantrell

Caliste v. Cantrell 937 F.3d 525 (5th Cir. 2019). Issue: Whether there is a conflict of interest when a magistrate responsible for bail decisions is also responsible for generating and administrating …

Cain v. New Orleans

Plaintiff-Appellees were former criminal defendants in Orleans Parish Criminal District Court (OPCDC) who pleaded guilty to various criminal defenses and were assessed fines and fees. All were arrested for failure to pay their assessed fines and fees; bond was set at $20,000 each; and, they each spent between six days and two weeks in jail. The court’s collection of fines and fees funded about one quarter of the Judicial Expense Fund (JEF); the Judges had exclusive control over how the JEF was spent and generally used it for court staff salaries as well as other administrative and maintenance expenses.