Debt Sentence: How Fines And Fees Hurt Working Families
This report shares the results of a national survey of over 5,600 adults to see how court-imposed fines and fees affect people across the country.
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Fines and Financial Wellbeing
Unplanned financial shocks can have long-term effects on household finances. This article explores whether households can absorb unanticipated shocks by estimating the impacts of fines for traffic violations on household …
Clearing The Road For Ohioans With Suspended Licenses: A Look At Ohio’s Reinstatement Fee Amnesty Program
For drivers in Ohio, there are over 30 offenses, with penalties ranging from $15 to $600, that may trigger a license suspension. The Ohio Bureau of Motor Vehicles (BMV) then …
Which Town and Village Courts Collect The Most Fines and Fees in NY And CNY?
According to the State Comptroller’s Office, in 2022, New York’s nearly 1,200 towns and villages collected $189 million in fines, fees, and surcharges from traffic tickets, penalties imposed in criminal …
People Over Profits: A Truly Free, No Cost Tablet Program for Incarcerated People in San Francisco
Tablets are often utilized in jails and prisons to generate revenue from incarcerated individuals and their families, with high costs for the tablets and access to services making them unaffordable …
National Guide to Court Appearances
Missed court appearances are costly for both court systems and court users. Court users and their families may be assessed fines, arrested or serve jail time, while the system pays …
Why Inflation Price Hikes Are Even Worse Behind Bars
The Marshall Project reviewed commissary prices from 26 state prison departments in 2022, finding that prices for food and hygiene products have soared across prisons due to the lack of …
Revenue, Race, and the Potential Unintended Consequences of Traffic Enforcement Reform
Highly publicized killings of people by law enforcement during traffic stops have led to a growing interest in traffic enforcement reform. While some see automated traffic enforcement and unarmed civilian …
United States Department of Justice “Dear Colleague” Letter (revised and updated)
On April 20, 2023 the U.S. Department of Justice’s Civil Rights Division, Office of Justice Programs, and Office for Access to Justice revised the 2016 Dear Colleague to include an updated discussion …
Why the Bureau of Prisons’ Proposal to Seize Commissary Funds Must Be Withdrawn
In January 2023, the Justice Department’s Bureau of Prisons proposed a shocking amendment that would confiscate 75 percent of outside contributions to an incarcerated person’s commissary account to pay off …