National Archives - Page 19 of 19 - Fines and Fees Justice Center

The Debt Penalty: Exposing the Financial Barriers to Offender Reintegration

Contact with the criminal legal system often results in the assessment of fines and fees. For people who are indigent or subject to other financial obligations such as child support …

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.

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 …

Bearden v. Georgia

In Bearden v. Georgia, the Supreme Court held that courts may only revoke probation and/or sentence the defendant to imprisonment if the defendant willfully refused to pay.