National Archives - Page 7 of 20 - Fines and Fees Justice Center

Who Pays: Measuring Differences In the Process of Repayment of LFOs

People unable to pay legal financial obligations (LFOs) are at risk of additional consequences for nonpayment – a risk likely driven by the local emphasis and reliance on fee and cost …

Sentenced to a Life of Debt: It Is Time for a Reassessment of How Bankruptcy Law Intersects with Fines and Fees to Keep People in Debt

Court debt has generally been excluded from the fresh start bankruptcy provides, despite the disproportionate and devastating impacts on those who cannot afford to pay. This article reviews the provisions …

The New Due Process: Fairness in a Fee-Driven State

Courts, prosecutors, and law enforcement work together to assess and collect fines, fees, and forfeitures that fund the justice system – a conflict of interest and a violation of due …

The High Cost of a Fresh Start: A State by State Analysis of Court Debt as a Bar to Record Clearing

A criminal record can make it hard to get a job, support a family, secure housing, vote, and ultimately pay off fines and fees. Despite efforts by states to provide …

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 …

Is There a Link Between Criminal Debt and Recidivism in Reentry?

To determine whether legal financial obligations (LFOs) are criminogenic, the author analyzed a multistate data set from the Urban Institute’s Returning Home Studies. The study followed formerly incarcerated men through …

A Continuum of Coercive Costs: A State-Level Analysis of the Imposition and Payment Enforcement of Statutory Fees

In the past 40 years, states have dramatically increased the number of costs and fees to shift the financial burden of the criminal justice system from taxpayers to justice-involved individuals. …

Monetary Sanctions and Housing Instability

Legal Financial Obligations (LFOs) can reduce household resources and lead to many forms of housing instability. Homelessness can also lead to entanglements with the criminal legal system, such as fine-only …

The High Cost of a Fresh Start: A State by State Analysis of Court Debt as a Bar to Record Clearing

A criminal record can make it hard to get a job, support a family, secure housing, vote, and ultimately pay off fines and fees. Despite efforts by states to provide …

Justice-Involved Individuals and the Consumer Financial Marketplace

Contact with the justice system can destabilize people’s financial situation. This report by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau outlines the challenges justice-involved individuals and their families face due to predatory …