Bridging the Gap
When someone drives over one of the Bay Area’s toll bridges, they are charged $6 and sent an invoice. If the toll is not paid promptly, drivers are charged a …
Ability to Pay
The (Non) Economics of Criminal Fines and Fees
Misdemeanors constitute 80 percent of all criminal cases in the United States. Beginning January 1st, 2014, Wisconsin imposed a $200 surcharge on misdemeanor defendants found guilty in the Milwaukee Circuit …
2021 Driving Injustice: Consequences and Disparities in North Carolina Legal and Traffic Debt
An increase in fines, fees, and license suspension for traffic tickets, infractions, and misdemeanors has created a vicious cycle of court debt. People who do not pay their debt within …
Cato’s Project on Poverty and Inequality in California: Final Report
California has the largest economy of any state and a gross domestic product of almost $3 trillion. However, before the pandemic, 17.2 percent of the state population lived below the …
Fines Prevent Too Many People From Voting In Florida
In 2018, Floridians approved the constitutional amendment to restore voting rights to nearly everyone with a criminal record upon completion of their sentence. 1.4 million people became eligible to vote …
Step One to an Antiracist State Revenue Policy: Eliminate Criminal Justice Fees and Reform Fines
Many state revenue policies are rooted in racist history and continue to worsen racial inequities and harm public safety. For example, the white supremacist group, the Redeemers, took political power …
San Francisco’s Financial Justice Project: Reducing the burden of fines and fees on San Franciscans with low incomes
San Francisco’s cost of living has drastically risen over the past decade, and 47 percent of San Franciscans are financially insecure. To address harmful fines and fees practices, San Francisco …
Driven by Debt: The Failure of the OmniBase Program
The OmniBase Failure to Appear Program places holds on license renewals (making it an offense to drive) when the license holder fails to pay fines and fees or fails to …
City of Seattle v. Long
Summary: Steven Long worked as a general tradesman and stored work tools and personal items in his truck, where he had been living since he was evicted from his apartment in …
D.C. parking, traffic tickets snowball into financial hardships
The Washington Post analyzed patterns of moving violations from red light cameras, parking tickets and police stops between 2016 and 2021 in the District of Columbia. The article highlights findings …