News

(Color)blind Reform: How ability-to-pay determinations are inadequate to transform a racialized system of penal debt

This law review article argues that fines and fees reformers’ emphasis on instituting ability-to-pay determinations without any reductions in racially discriminatory ticketing may cause more harm than good. In particular, the author articulates a concern that ability-to-pay determinations risk legitimizing the existing system of monetary sanctions and entrenching damages inflicted upon people deemed ‘able to pay.’

California SB 144: Criminal fees.

This bill repeals the authority to collect certain criminal administrative fees including fees for public defenders, booking, mandatory drug testing and costs related to incarceration and probation supervision.

Virginia Senate Bill 1013: Relating to suspension of driver’s license for nonpayment of fines or costs.

This bill, which did not pass, would have ended driver's license suspensions for unpaid fines and fees in Virginia.

It’s All About The Money: An Exploration of Probation Fees

Texas relies on supervision fees from probationers to recuperate operating costs for their probation program; failure to pay can result in additional sanctions and ultimately, revocations. This study used focus …

Prison Phone Justice: Intrastate Collect Prison Phone Rates [Map]

The Campaign for Prison Phone Justice maintains a website tracking the cost of phone calls from prisons in all U.S. states as well as the sum of kickbacks that families of incarcerated people have paid to relevant corrections agencies nationwide.

Report of Statewide Collection of Court-Ordered Debt for 2017-18

This report profiles the collection of unpaid court-ordered fines and fees during the 2017-18 fiscal year in California.

Stopping the Debt Spiral

This report shares the results of a survey of 304 low-income Illinois residents who were asked about their experience with debt, including criminal justice debt. Respondents disclosed the types of debt they had, the number of debts they owed, and the emotional toll debt takes on their families.