National Archives - Page 9 of 20 - Fines and Fees Justice Center

Equitable Approaches to Municipal Fines and Fees

The assessment and collection of fines and fees can have wide-ranging harmful consequences, particularly for Black and Latino people who are more likely to be targeted by the criminal justice …

Show Me The Money: Tracking The Companies That Have a Lock on Sending Funds to Incarcerated People

To pay for the everyday costs of being incarcerated, family members historically sent money orders to prisons, the amounts which would be added to the recipient’s trust account one to …

The Demand for Money Behind Many Traffic Stops

Cities and towns, often those with weakened tax bases or that are barred from easily raising revenue, use fines and fees to raise revenue. Over 730 municipalities rely on fines …

Part 1: Rethinking Local Government Revenue Systems

Most local governments depend on property taxes and sales taxes to raise revenue. Although property taxes are a stable source of revenue for local governments, property taxes have decreased. Municipalities …

Reimagining local public finance: Equitable Reform of taxes, fines and fees

While the American Recovery Plan Act provides local governors flexible funds to replace revenue lost due to the pandemic, local governments should take this opportunity not just to replace revenues, …

Step One to an Antiracist State Revenue Policy: Eliminate Criminal Justice Fees and Reform Fines

Many state revenue policies are rooted in racist history and continue to worsen racial inequities and harm public safety. For example, the white supremacist group, the Redeemers, took political power …

How to Use Budgets to Understand Criminal Justice Fines and Fees

The Vera Institute of Justice published a toolkit to help advocates analyze local budgets to better understand the impact of fines and fees and where reforms are needed. The publication …

Nickels and Dimes? Rethinking the Imposition of Special Assessment Fee on Indigent Defendants

No fine is imposed if the judge determines the defendant lacks the ability to pay any fine, but every defendant is required to pay a special assessment fee of $100 …

The True Cost of Criminal Justice Debt: Examining the Public Health Implications of Legal Financial Obligations

Public health experts have identified criminal justice debt as a social and environmental factor impacting individuals’ and their families’ physical and mental health. Low-income individuals who are disproportionately represented in …

Stripping the Gears of White Supremacy: A Call to Abate Reliance on Court Fines and Fees and Revitalize Local Taxation

The imposition of court debt began in the 1960s and became more prominent in the 1980s through fines, fees, costs, assessments, asset forfeiture, and restitution. States and municipalities have come …