Personal Narrative: Desiree Seats
Desiree Seats was 23 years old and a mother of a 4-year old boy back in 2014 when she found out her license was suspended before was ever granted one.
News
Reed v. City of Ferguson
This case challenges the constitutionality of the warrant recall fee, letter fee, and failure to appear fee imposed by Ferguson Municipal Court, alleging that these fees were enacted for profit and not to promote the welfare of the public.
Missouri SB 5: Modifies distribution of traffic fines and court costs collected by municipal courts
This Act significantly modifies various provisions related to local government revenue in Missouri, including the imposition and enforcement of fines and fees in municipal courts. The Act imposed a 20% cap on municipal court revenue from fines and fees everywhere in the state except St. Louis County, where the cap was 12.5%.
Unified But Not Uniform: Judicial Funding Issues in Alabama
This study explains how the current lack of uniformity in funding of Alabama’s courts, even after the 1973 establishment of the Unified Judicial System (UJS), warrants a second wave of reform.
The Debt Penalty: Exposing the Financial Barriers to Offender Reintegration
Contact with the criminal legal system often results in the assessment of fines and fees. For people who are indigent or subject to other financial obligations such as child support …
As Court Fees Rise, The Poor Are Paying The Price
Many government services in the criminal justice system, which were once free, are now charged to defendants, many of which are low-income individuals who cannot afford them. By the 1980s, …
State-By-State Court Fees
This national survey identified the states that charge people fees for electronic monitoring, probation or supervision, public defender and legal costs, and other criminal justice system services.
Mitchell v. City of Montgomery
Unable to pay debt from traffic tickets, impoverished defendants were given the options of paying the debt immediately or sitting out their debt in jail at the rate of $50.00 a day. Those in jail were given the further option of performing janitorial services at the rate of $25.00 a day. No inquiry was made as to the defendant’s ability to pay.
Why Are Surcharges on Some NY Traffic Tickets Higher Than the Fine?
This video and news article tells the story of Pete Tanner, who received a speeding ticket and noticed that the fees attached to the ticket were higher than the underlying …
US: For-Profit Probation Tramples Rights of Poor
This video by Human Rights Watch shows how private probation companies can strip people of basic necessities and jail them because they can’t afford to pay their court debt and exorbitant probation fees.