News

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.

Alabama Rules of Criminal Procedure: Rule 26.11: Fines and restitution.

This rule guides Alabama courts' decision-making processes for ordering restitution and fines, including for failure to pay.

Bearden v. Georgia

In Bearden v. Georgia, the Supreme Court held that courts may only revoke probation and/or sentence the defendant to imprisonment if the defendant willfully refused to pay.

Ward v. Village of Monroeville

Petitioner’s due process rights were violated because he is entitled to a hearing before a disinterested and impartial judge in the first instance. The mayor was neither.