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
People v. Kopp
People v. Kopp
Issue Holding Background CA Supreme Court’s Reasoning Outcome The court ordered the judgment of the Court of Appeal reversed with directions to remand the matter to the superior co…
San Diego is owed more than $260 million in delinquent parking tickets and other debts. Will it ever collect them?
San Diego is owed more than $260 million in delinquent parking tickets and other debts. Will it ever collect them?
Though fines are intended to deter unwanted behaviors, many cities use them as a revenue source. For the first time in over 20 years, San Diego raised its parking citation prices,…
Report to the Legislature: Online Infraction Adjudication and Ability-to-Pay Determinations
Report to the Legislature: Online Infraction Adjudication and Ability-to-Pay Determinations
MyCitations was developed and is maintained by the Judicial Council of California as an online tool to allow individuals with infraction violations to request a reduction in their…
Improving Traffic Ticket Outcomes
Improving Traffic Ticket Outcomes
Costly fines and fees from traffic citations disproportionately burden low income people with debt they cannot afford. To reduce the burden, California created MyCitations, an onli…
Racial Disparities in Use of Force at Traffic Stops
Racial Disparities in Use of Force at Traffic Stops
Millions of traffic stops occur nationwide for reasons unrelated to safety. Officers not only use traffic stops as a pretext to conduct a search or investigate for other crimes but…
Playing Politics With Traffic Fines: Sheriff Elections and Political Cycles in Traffic Fines Revenue
Playing Politics With Traffic Fines: Sheriff Elections and Political Cycles in Traffic Fines Revenue
The political budget cycle theory is the idea that elected officials change how they manage public money in the period immediately before elections to improve their chances of gett…
Better for Everyone: Repairing Harm for Crime Survivors and Young People: San Francisco’s New Approach to Youth Restitution
Better for Everyone: Repairing Harm for Crime Survivors and Young People: San Francisco’s New Approach to Youth Restitution
The purpose of juvenile restitution is to financially compensate the crime survivor for their loss and to hold the young person accountable for their actions. In San Francisco, cri…
California AB-645 Vehicles: speed safety system pilot program
California AB-645 Vehicles: speed safety system pilot program
The California legislature passed a bill allowing for the use of automated speeding cameras as a pilot program in 6 California counties: Los Angeles, Glendale, Long Beach, San Fran…
Litigation Victory Signals End to California Courts’ Illegal Late Fees That Penalized Poverty for Profit – $550 Million to $1 Billion Erased
Litigation Victory Signals End to California Courts’ Illegal Late Fees That Penalized Poverty for Profit – $550 Million to $1 Billion Erased
For years, California courts have burdened low-income people with unlawful civil assessments. The Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights of the San Francisco Bay Area, ACLU Foundation…
Report to the Legislature: Online Infraction Adjudication and Ability-to-Pay Determinations
Report to the Legislature: Online Infraction Adjudication and Ability-to-Pay Determinations
This report uses data from California courts that have adopted the MyCitations tool to evaluate the pilot program. As of January 1, 2023, over 66,000 ability-to-pay requests were s…