Welcome to FFJC’s digital library of resources related to fines and fees, also known as the Clearinghouse. Our repository of research and tools is curated and summarized by our Policy and Research team and includes key fines and fees research, litigation, legislation, policy analysis and guidance, and case studies. Use the search features below to find the information you need to drive reform.
E.g., ‘impacts of fines and fees’
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Debt Sentence: How Fines And Fees Hurt Working Families
This report shares the results of a national survey of over 5,600 adults to see how court-imposed fines and fees affect people across the country.
Debt Sentence: How Fines And Fees Hurt Working Families
Racial and Neighborhood Disparities in Legal Financial Obligations in Jefferson County, Alabama
Racial and Neighborhood Disparities in Legal Financial Obligations in Jefferson County, Alabama
As part of the Jefferson County Equitable Fines and Fees Project (JEFF), a group of data scientists, judges, and advocates collaborated on research to analyze the fairness of Legal…
The Jefferson County Equitable Fines and Fees Project: Preliminary Findings on Fairness and Efficacy
The Jefferson County Equitable Fines and Fees Project: Preliminary Findings on Fairness and Efficacy
Local governments impose legal financial obligations (LFOs) on individuals convicted of traffic violations, misdemeanors, and felonies. The Jefferson County Equitable Fines and Fe…
The Fee Trap: Why Alabama’s Local Governments Can’t Shake Fines and Charges
The Fee Trap: Why Alabama’s Local Governments Can’t Shake Fines and Charges
Local governments in Alabama, constrained by the state’s constitutional limits on raising taxes, impose fees and general charges to fund services. As a result, lower-income people…
Taken for a Ride: How Excessive Ticketing Propels Alabama Drivers Into A Cycle of Debt, Incarceration, and Poverty
Taken for a Ride: How Excessive Ticketing Propels Alabama Drivers Into A Cycle of Debt, Incarceration, and Poverty
The U.S. Department of Transportation’s Selective Traffic Enforcement Program (STEP) provides additional funding to law enforcement agencies implementing programs to deter dangerou…
Alabama Takes From the Poor and Gives to the Rich
Alabama Takes From the Poor and Gives to the Rich
To raise taxes in Alabama, cities and counties must go through the state legislature to initiate a constitutional amendment allowing them to pass a law to raise property or income…
U.S. Department of Justice Statement of Interest: Coleman v. Brookside, AL
U.S. Department of Justice Statement of Interest: Coleman v. Brookside, AL
On July 26, 2022, the United States Department of Justice (DOJ) filed a Statement of Interest (SOI) in the case of Coleman v. Brookside, 2:22-cv-00423-RDP, pending in the U.S. Dist…
Town Hall: Beyond Policing for Profit
Town Hall: Beyond Policing for Profit
This special report follows up on the January 2022 AL.com investigative report shedding light on Brookside’s police department’s aggressive ticketing and towing practices to…
AL HB 200
AL HB 200
The Alabama legislature recently introduced a bill that would prohibit driver’s license suspensions for failure to pay a fine, fee, court cost or restitution imposed as a result of…
Measuring the Impact of Suspended Licenses on State Tax Revenue
Measuring the Impact of Suspended Licenses on State Tax Revenue
Alabama law permits the suspension of driver’s licenses for failure to pay fines, fees, or court costs. Per suspended license, it is estimated that the state expects to collect a m…
Life On An Ankle Monitor In Alabama: $10 A Day and ‘Inevitable Imperfections
Life On An Ankle Monitor In Alabama: $10 A Day and ‘Inevitable Imperfections
Many state and local governments have shifted the cost of incarceration from the government onto the person being monitored. In 2020, Brittany Smith pleaded guilty for the murder o…