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
State of Iowa v. Pagliai
State of Iowa v. Pagliai
Issue Holding Facts Ronald Pagliai was charged in four separate cases for shoplifting. As part of a single plea agreement to resolve the cases, Pagliai agreed to plead guilty in tw…
Ellinburg v. United States
Ellinburg v. United States
Issue Holding Background Court’s Reasoning Outcome The judgment of the U. S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit was reversed and the case remanded for further proceeding…
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…
Priced Out of Freedom: Fees, Fines, and Representation in Parole & Probation Revocation
Priced Out of Freedom: Fees, Fines, and Representation in Parole & Probation Revocation
Whether someone is appointed counsel in a probation or parole hearing is nuanced and varies widely depending on the jurisdiction in which they’re located. This is especially challe…
Our Anemic Excessive Fines Clause: Are State Courts Following the Federal Lead?
Our Anemic Excessive Fines Clause: Are State Courts Following the Federal Lead?
The Supreme Court’s 2019 decision in Timbs v. Indiana was hailed by many as a watershed moment for a more expansive use of the Eight Amendment’s Excessive Fines Clause. Although Ti…
Paying for the Right to Counsel: National Survey Findings on the Practice of Charging Public Defense Fees to Clients
Paying for the Right to Counsel: National Survey Findings on the Practice of Charging Public Defense Fees to Clients
The Sixth Amendment guarantees the right to counsel, and the Supreme Court has held that the Sixth Amendment requires states to provide a lawyer if a defendant cannot afford one. H…
City of Grants Pass v. Johnson
City of Grants Pass v. Johnson
Issue Does the Eighth Amendment’s Cruel and Unusual Punishment Clause prohibit municipalities from enforcing generally applicable laws regulating sleeping and camping on public pro…
State v. Gibbons
State v. Gibbons
Issue 1. Whether a law that imposed a $5,000 mandatory minimum fine without regard to the defendant’s ability to pay, is facially unconstitutional under the Excessive Fines Clause…
Fant et al. v. City of Ferguson
Fant et al. v. City of Ferguson
Case No. 4-15-CV-00253-AGF| Settled February 27, 2024 Claims at Issue: In a class action complaint filed on February 8, 2015, the plaintiffs, nine class representatives who had bee…
Post-Ferguson Class Action Suits Challenging Fine and Fee Schemes in Missouri
Post-Ferguson Class Action Suits Challenging Fine and Fee Schemes in Missouri
Post-Ferguson Class Action Suits Challenging Fine and Fee Schemes in Missouri In 2014, when a police officer in Ferguson, Missouri shot and killed Michael Brown, the City of Ferg…