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
Should Unpaid Traffic Tickets Lead to Jail Time? This Justice of The Peace Doesn’t Think So.
Should Unpaid Traffic Tickets Lead to Jail Time? This Justice of The Peace Doesn’t Think So.
In Texas, failing to pay fines and fees for low-level traffic offenses can result in arrest warrants. In Harris County, Justice of the Peace Steve Duble has taken a bold step by re…
Failure to Pay The Use of Debt-Based Carceral Sanctions and Warrants in Wisconsin’s Municipal Courts
Failure to Pay The Use of Debt-Based Carceral Sanctions and Warrants in Wisconsin’s Municipal Courts
Although municipal courts in Wisconsin do not enforce criminal penalties, many order the arrest and jailing of people for debt-based sanctions. Municipal courts use writs of commit…
Consumer Debt Litigation Index
Consumer Debt Litigation Index
The Consumer Debt Litigation Index, developed by the National Center for Access to Justice (NCAJ), evaluates how well each U.S. state and the District of Columbia protects consumer…
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…
Forgotten But Not Gone: A Multi-State Analysis of Modern-Day Debt Imprisonment
Forgotten But Not Gone: A Multi-State Analysis of Modern-Day Debt Imprisonment
The majority of states allow imprisonment as a direct result of failing to pay (FTP) court debt. This report presents findings from a three-state case study that sought to estimate…
United States Department of Justice “Dear Colleague” Letter (revised and updated)
United States Department of Justice “Dear Colleague” Letter (revised and updated)
On April 20, 2023 the U.S. Department of Justice’s Civil Rights Division, Office of Justice Programs, and Office for Access to Justice revised the 2016 Dear Colleague to include an…
Roberts Webb et al. v. City of Maplewood
Roberts Webb et al. v. City of Maplewood
On March 6, 2023, a federal judge approved a $3.25 million settlement in this class-action lawsuit brought against the City of Maplewood, Missouri. The suit alleged that the City r…
Punishing the Poor: An Assessment of the Administration of Fines and Fees in New Mexico Misdemeanor Courts
Punishing the Poor: An Assessment of the Administration of Fines and Fees in New Mexico Misdemeanor Courts
Low-income people in New Mexico accused of minor crimes are often caught in a vicious cycle where they are jailed because they can’t afford to pay monetary sanctions. In 2018, the…
Broken Rules: Laws Meant to End Debtors’ Prisons are Failing Nebraskans
Broken Rules: Laws Meant to End Debtors’ Prisons are Failing Nebraskans
Nebraska law has safeguards that should prevent people from being incarcerated solely because they cannot afford a fee or fine. Some include statutes that require considering a per…
The Costs of the Punishment Clause
The Costs of the Punishment Clause
The Punishment Clause in the Thirteenth Amendment, permits involuntary servitude so long as it is imposed pursuant to a criminal punishment. Originating as Black codes and convict…