Drive to Work – Restoring Driving Privileges
Drive-to-Work is a nonprofit that helps low-income or formerly incarcerated people in Virginia restore their driving privileges.
News
Sentencing for Dollars: The Financial Consequences of a Criminal Conviction
This working paper details the collateral consequences of fines and fees in New York and highlights how the conflicting goals of assessing fines and fees – punishment as well as the need for revenue – can threaten criminal justice system outcomes and disproportionately impact marginalized communities.
Action Plan for the Justice Courts
This report from the New York State Unified Court System is an effort to comprehensively review and improve the administration of New York’s 1,277 town and village courts, with a particular focus on cost effectiveness and efficiency.
Mueller v. State
Two appellants convicted of misdemeanors offered participation in the pretrial diversion program upon payment of $230 in fees. They filed a complaint alleging removal from the program because of their inability to pay the fees is a violation of the Fourteenth Amendment of the Constitution.
Thomas v. City of Gulfport
Harrison County Jail was a modern day debtors’ prison. Officers went to predominantly African American neighborhoods arbitrarily checking people to see if they had paid their court fines and fees.
Personal Narrative: Melissa Stephens
Melissa Stephens, a mother of three, was forced to move from Wichita, Kansas to Las Vegas, Nevada because of $8000 of traffic ticket debt.
Ohio Revised Code 2947.14: Hearing on ability to pay fine
This statute details the procedural protections owed to defendants in instances of nonpayment of fines and fees. It also establishes explicit limits for nonpayment incarceration.
A Fine Is A Price
This article discusses the findings of a study which investigated the effect of imposing and eliminating fines on parents who were late picking up their children from daycare.
Moody v. State of Mississippi
An indigent's equal protection rights are violated when defendants can avoid prosecution by paying a fine, without determining an individual’s ability to pay the fine.
The Staten Island Day-Fine Project
This publication describes the implementation and effects of the means-adjusted fines pilot program conducted by the Criminal Court of Staten Island, New York.