The Limits of Fairer Fines: Lessons from Germany
To combat the significant number of low level cases being sentenced to short periods of incarceration, Germany increased their use of fines, shortly thereafter adopting day fines to ensure that …
News
COVID-19 Crisis: FFJC Policy Recommendations and Policy Tracker
FFJC has released a set of policy recommendations to help stem the harms of this ongoing public health and economic crisis. This page also tracks state and local fines and fees reform efforts undertaken in response to coronavirus.
COVID-19 Crisis: Advocacy Materials
FFJC is compiling advocacy materials for organizations and community members across America who are working toward fines and fees policy changes in response to the coronavirus pandemic. Below, you can …
Advancing Financial Justice in San Francisco: The Experience and Lessons of the City’s Financial Justice Project
This paper summarizes the lessons, successes, and challenges of the San Francisco Financial Justice Project, especially concerning criminal justice fines and fees reform.
Kelvin Leon Jones et al. v. Ron DeSantis et al.
Background: Beginning in 1838, Florida’s constitution allowed the legislature to disenfranchise felons. Effective January 8, 2019, Amendment 4 of the Florida constitution added a provision automatically restoring the voting rights …
Framing the System of Monetary Sanctions as Predatory: Policies, Practices, and Motivations
This literature review surveys articles published in the University of California, Los Angeles Criminal Justice Law Review that discuss how court fines and fees may be viewed as predatory.
The Role of Fines and Fees on Probation Outcomes
Although fines and fees can leave individuals with high amounts of debt, few court systems use standardized measures to determine an individual’s ability to pay. The amount of fees and …
Salience, Incentives, and Timely Compliance: Evidence from Speeding Tickets
As monetary sanctions in law enforcement have become increasingly more prevalent and their budgetary significance non-trivial, little is known about why certain behavioral interventions increase compliance in some contexts but …
Personal Narrative: Charlene
Not having a driver's license because of unpaid fines and fees was yet another burden that Charlene Cintron carried as a Floridian who is disabled, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Ankle Monitors Are Replacing Cash Bail, But At A Cost
This article discusses how people who are court-ordered to participate in electronic monitoring bear the burden of the program costs and the risk of being jailed for nonpayment.