A Pound of Flesh- The Criminalization of Private Debt
This report exposes how the private debt collection industry uses the court system to coerce payment from people, many of whom cannot afford to pay their debts.
The Excessive Fines Clause: Challenging the Modern Debtor’s Prison
This law review article makes the case that the Eight Amendment’s Excessive Fines Clause may be a better, albeit underdeveloped, provision to address the epidemic of debtor’s prisons.
Resolution in Support of Limiting Driver’s License Suspensions to Violations that Involve Dangerous Driving
This resolution urges state legislators to limit driver’s license suspensions “to conduct that involves offenders with dangerous driving,” such as driving under the influence or committing multiple moving violations.
Fines, Fees, and the Poverty Penalty
This issue brief discusses how fines and fees harm communities and puts forward several strategies that prosecutors can use to mitigate these harms.
Driven By Dollars: A State-By-State Analysis of Driver’s License Suspension Laws for Failure to Pay Court Debt
In this report, Mario Salas and Angela Ciolfi analyze driver’s license suspension policies in all 50 states and describe the harmful consequences of “license-for-payment” systems.
Targeted Fines and Fees Against Communities of Color
The U.S. Commission on Civil Rights issued a landmark report detailing the disproportionate harms that communities of color suffer from fines and fees.
Discretionary Disenfranchisement: The Case of Legal Financial Obligations
States have the autonomy to strip convicted defendants of their voting rights and determine how and if they may be restored. Although most states restore voting rights at the end …
Injustice Under Law: Perpetuating and Criminalizing Poverty Through The Courts
The ability to hire an attorney in either a civil or criminal proceeding can result in an experience that is procedurally and substantively different than that of someone who is …
The Price of Being Poor: How Fines and Fees Entrench Inequality and What Has to Change [Panel]
As part of the Aspen Institute’s 2017 Summit on Inequality and Opportunity, this panel discussion was convened to discuss problems posed by fines and fees practices. During the panel, Rev. …
Not One but Many: Monetary Punishment and the Fergusons of America
In this article for Sociological Forum, Professors Kasey Hendricks and Daina Cheyenne Harvey examine whether Ferguson’s fines and fees practices are typical among local governments.