Debtors’ Prison for Kids? The High Cost of Fines and Fees in the Juvenile Justice System
This report documents how and when youth and families face fines, fees and restitution and the economic and legal consequences for failure to pay.
Nickel and Dimed into Incarceration: Cash-Register Justice in the Criminal System
The article provides an overview of criminal justice fines and fees; applies the Sixth Amendment jury trial right to these fines and fees; considers the question of “when criminal justice debt rises to the level of punishment; and suggests several solutions to the problem.
Fines, Fees, And Bail- Payments In The Criminal Justice System That Disproportionately Impact The Poor
This brief provides background information on criminal justice system fines, fees, and bail and argues that these costs disproportionately impact poor people.
When All Else Fails, Fining the Family: First Person Accounts of Criminal Justice Debt
Over the course of 2 months and 39 interviews, the authors of this report aimed to better understand how the punishment of prison and its collateral consequences (and fines and fees in particular) affect individuals’ financial situations and stability.
Taxing the Poor: Incarceration, Poverty Governance, and the Seizure of Family Resources
To finance its carceral system, the United States government levies taxes on the country’s most impoverished strata. Although those involved in the justice system are typically low-income individuals, they are …
Charging Inmates Perpetuates Mass Incarceration
In this policy brief, L.B. Eisen explains how imposing fees upon incarcerated people perpetuates mass incarceration. The brief outlines describes contemporary fee practices, explores the history of those fees, analyzes their constitutionality, and makes several policy recommendations to mitigate collateral consequences.
Municipal Violations: Last Week Tonight with John Oliver
In this video, John Oliver details the devastating impacts that low-income Americans suffer due to fines and fees and the involvement of private probation companies.
Screening Out Family Time- The For-Profit Video Visitation Industry In Prisons And Jails
This report discusses the disadvantages of the video visitation technology provided in jails and prisons, including the costs to families and how video visits are not an adequate substitute for in-person visits.
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, …