Ability to Pay Archives - Fines and Fees Justice Center

Investigation of the Lexington Police Department and the City of Lexington, Mississippi

On September 26, 2024, the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) issued a report concluding that the City of Lexington, Mississippi, and the Lexington Police Department (LPD) engaged “in a pattern …

How Fines and Fees Impact Family Well-Being

Fines and fees, imposed at every level of the criminal legal system, significantly affect the well-being of families. Using data from the Urban Institute’s 2023 Well-Being and Basic Needs Survey, …

Health, Access to Care, and Financial Barriers to Care Among People Incarcerated in US Prisons

Prison residents often come from communities with high poverty and poor health. More than 60 percent of prison residents in the United States have a chronic physical condition and more …

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 property? Holding In a 6-3 ruling, the …

Wilmington Fines and Fees Task Force Findings and Recommendations

Lower-income residents in Wilmington face financial hardship as the costs and fees from the city rise. In 2022, the Wilmington City Council created the Fines and Fees Task Force to …

The Cost of Justice: In Indiana, Legal Fines and Fees Are Determined by Where You Live

Monetary sanctions can prevent intergenerational wealth through the seizure of property, assets, and accounts, and the collateral consequences they perpetuate are often overlooked. People involved in the criminal legal system …

Locked In, Priced Out: How Prison Commissary Price-Gouging Preys on The Incarcerated

Prison commissaries nationwide are exploitative and inconsistent in their pricing. The Appeal underwent a nine-month investigation to collect commissary prices and markups from 46 states. People in prison make pennies …

Fines, Fees, and Families: Monetary Sanctions As Stigmatized Intergenerational Exchange

The impacts of monetary sanctions extend far beyond those directly receiving them, often burdening families and entire communities. But unlike the well-documented effects of incarceration, the intergenerational consequences of court-imposed …

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 been issued traffic …

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 Ferguson …