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Rehabilitation or Revolving Door: How Parole Is a Trap for Those in Poverty

This report examines how the structure and conditions of parole in the United States perpetuate cycles of incarceration, particularly for people experiencing poverty. The author argues that although parole is …

Trial Court Administrative Order 22-3: Elimination of Monthly Probation Fees Imposed Pursuant to G.L. c. 276, § 87A

Effective July 1, 2022, Massachusetts eliminated monthly probation supervision fees, administrative probation fees, and victim services surcharges. Monthly probation fees assessed after the effective date will be remitted and paid …

Commonwealth of Pennsylvania v. Lopez

Issue Whether Pennsylvania Rule of Criminal Procedure 706(C) requires a trial court to consider a defendant’s ability to pay prior to imposing mandatory court costs at sentencing. Pa.R.Crim.P. 706(C) reads: “The court, …

Surviving Austerity: Commissary Stores, Inequality and Punishment In The Contemporary American Prison

As mass incarceration exploded in the 1980s, so did fiscal austerity, leading to the use of monetary sanctions and user fees to shift the financial burden from taxpayers to those …

Taylor v. City of Saginaw

United States District Court, E.D. Michigan, Northern Division August 8, 2022 — Fed. 3d — 2022 WL 3160734 Case No. 1:17-cv-11067

Alabama Takes From the Poor and Gives to the Rich

To raise taxes in Alabama, cities and counties must go through the state legislature to initiate a constitutional amendment allowing them to pass a law to raise property or income …

U.S. Department of Justice Statement of Interest: Coleman v. Brookside, AL

On July 26, 2022, the United States Department of Justice (DOJ) filed a Statement of Interest (SOI) in the case of Coleman v. Brookside, 2:22-cv-00423-RDP, pending in the U.S. District …

In Small-Town Georgia, A Broken Taillight Can Lead to Spiraling Debt

Georgia is one of the few states that criminalize traffic fines and allow localities to outsource misdemeanor probation supervision to private companies that are permitted to charge fees. This article …

The Costs of the Punishment Clause

The Punishment Clause in the Thirteenth Amendment, permits involuntary servitude so long as it is imposed pursuant to a criminal punishment. Originating as Black codes and convict leasing, these practices have …

Reimagining Restitution: New Approaches to Support Youth and Communities

Courts began ordering youth restitution in the 1960s as a less restrictive sanction than probation or incarceration for mostly white youth. Since then, restitution has been linked to higher recidivism …