Driven by Debt: The Failure of the OmniBase Program
The OmniBase Failure to Appear Program places holds on license renewals (making it an offense to drive) when the license holder fails to pay fines and fees or fails to …
News
City of Seattle v. Long
Summary: Steven Long worked as a general tradesman and stored work tools and personal items in his truck, where he had been living since he was evicted from his apartment in …
D.C. parking, traffic tickets snowball into financial hardships
The Washington Post analyzed patterns of moving violations from red light cameras, parking tickets and police stops between 2016 and 2021 in the District of Columbia. The article highlights findings …
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 …
Cycles of Debt: Research Indicates That Driver’s License Suspensions Over Unpaid Fines Targets Black Drivers
In the first-ever study of failure-to-pay suspensions in the United States, researchers Sian Mughan and Joanna Carroll examined a sample of over 2000 drivers who received traffic tickets in Marion …
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 Future of Felon Disenfranchisement Reform: Evidence from the Campaign to Restore Voting Rights in Florida
In 2018, Amendment 4 sought to end felon disenfranchisement in Florida. This article outlines the history of Amendment 4 and shows how unpaid fines and fees undermined the campaign’s efforts. …
Minors Facing Major Debt: The Immense Burden of Court Fees on Macomb County Youth and Families
The Michigan Center for Youth Justice (MCYJ), in partnership with the National Center for Youth Law and the 16th Judicial Division, developed an innovation site in Macomb County, Michigan. In …
Colorado House Bill 21-1314
Colorado passed a bill repealing the authority of the Department of Revenue to cancel, renew or reinstate a driver’s license for failure to pay an outstanding monetary judgement. The bill also prohibits …
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 …