Financial Sanctions in Pennsylvania
From 2008 to 2018, the Pennsylvania Courts of Common Pleas assessed over $3.68 billion in fines, fees, and restitution. Using data from over 1.3 million cases in that ten-year period, …
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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 …
Criminalizing Poverty: The Consequences of Court Fees in a Randomized Experiment
Using a randomized controlled trial of court related fee relief for misdemeanor defendants, the authors tested the hypothesis that financial obligations criminalize poverty and later court involvement results from an …
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 …
Red-Light and Speed Cameras: Analyzing the Equity and Efficacy of Chicago’s Automated Camera Enforcement Program
This report analyzes Chicago’s automated red-light and speed camera program. Using data from red-light and speed camera tickets issued between 2016 and 2019, the authors evaluate the distribution of camera …
Measuring the Impact of Suspended Licenses on State Tax Revenue
Alabama law permits the suspension of driver’s licenses for failure to pay fines, fees, or court costs. Per suspended license, it is estimated that the state expects to collect a …
Five Evidence-Based Policies Can Improve Community Supervision
At the end of 2020, there were more than twice as many people under probation and parole supervision than people incarcerated in jails and prisons in the United States. Community …
Dreams Deferred: The Impact of Juvenile Fees on Florida’s Children, Families, and Future
This report outlines the catastrophic consequences of juvenile fee debt for Florida’s children, families, and economy including: increased poverty, increased recidivism, and the exacerbation of racial disparities in the justice system.
The Price of Justice: Legal Financial Obligations in Washington State
Utilizing survey responses from key stakeholders, the Washington State Minority and Justice Commission’s report gathers insights into the current landscape of policies and practices around legal financial obligations (LFO) and …