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
Miles v. Craighead County
Miles v. Craighead County
Issue: Whether costs and fees collected in amounts greater than what is permitted by law constitutes an illegal exaction. Holding: Yes, charging costs and fees not permitted by l…
Why We Need to Stop Suspending and Revoking Driver’s Licenses Due to Debt
Why We Need to Stop Suspending and Revoking Driver’s Licenses Due to Debt
The Prosperity Now Scorecard rates states on their progress toward racial economic justice in several policy areas. The 2022 policy update includes an assessment of which states ha…
AR SB513
AR SB513
The Arkansas legislature passed a bill eliminating driver’s license suspension for failure to pay fines in noncriminal traffic infractions. The bill permits driver’s license…
SB 190: To Remove a Driver’s License Suspension or Revocation as an Available Penalty for Offenses not Related to Driving a Motor Vehicle
SB 190: To Remove a Driver’s License Suspension or Revocation as an Available Penalty for Offenses not Related to Driving a Motor Vehicle
This bill prohibits a circuit or district court from suspending a driver’s license solely for nonpayment of a fine or fee, or for failure to appear in court. You can read the full…
Examining the Intersection Between Criminal Justice and Financial Services in the Deep South
Examining the Intersection Between Criminal Justice and Financial Services in the Deep South
The text discusses the financial burdens and barriers to financial stability faced by people after they are released from prison.
Can’t Win For Losing – How Institutions and Policies Keep Arkansans in Debt
Can’t Win For Losing – How Institutions and Policies Keep Arkansans in Debt
This report presents the findings from an Arkansas Community Institute survey concerning the household debt of Pulaski and Jefferson county residents.
Too Poor to Pay: How Arkansas’s Offender-Funded Justice System Drives Poverty & Mass Incarceration
Too Poor to Pay: How Arkansas’s Offender-Funded Justice System Drives Poverty & Mass Incarceration
This report identifies several promising issue areas for fines and fees reform in Arkansas, including nonpayment incarceration, driver’s license suspension for unpaid fines and fee…
Criminal Justice Debt in the South: A Primer for the Southern Partnership to Reduce Debt
Criminal Justice Debt in the South: A Primer for the Southern Partnership to Reduce Debt
Criminal justice debt places a h eavy burden on low-income families, often making it harder for those who owe to earn a living, trapping them and their families in poverty. This re…
Personal Narrative: Nikita
Personal Narrative: Nikita
Nikita was held for 42 days on a cash bail of $1315 because she was unable to pay a failure to appear charge. The charge was later dropped. However, to avoid imprisonment on a cont…
Mahoney et al. v. Derrick
Mahoney et al. v. Derrick
Arkansas secures payment of court debt through incarceration, driver’s license suspensions, and probation, for which an additional fee is charged.