NM SB181
This bill requires courts in criminal proceedings to assess ability to pay a fine, fee or costs, at the time of sentencing. The bill also requires that individuals be permitted …
Ability to Pay
Injustice in the Lowest Courts: How Municipal Courts Rob America’s Youth
In collaboration with the Juvenile Law Center, Columbia Law School’s Community Advocacy Lab examined the constitutions and laws of each of the 50 states and the District of Columbia to …
Driving DC to Opportunity: Wealth Should Not Determine Who Gets to Keep Their Driver’s License
DC’s Clean Hands Law restricts driver’s license privileges for court debt above $100. This report shows how this law punishes poverty, exacerbates inequalities, negatively impacts employment opportunities, and contributes to …
Carter v. Montgomery
Hundreds of individuals were assessed fines by the Montgomery Municipal Court for misdemeanors, primarily traffic tickets like driving with a suspended license and other low-level crimes of poverty. When they …
Living with Conviction: Sentenced To Debt For Life In Washington State
Through storytelling and legal empowerment, Living with Conviction: Sentenced to Debt for Life in Washington State partners with formerly incarcerated individuals to advocate for the end of onerous legal financial …
Costs and Fees Charged To Indigent Criminal Defendants in Philadelphia County
This publication seeks to determine the amount of criminal court costs and fees PLSE’s clients owe to the Philadelphia Court of Common Pleas
Layaway Freedom: Coercive Financialization in the Criminal Legal System
Using data from courtroom observations and interviews with court actors and people paying their court debt in Illinois, the authors study financialization in the criminal legal system, including the practice …
Online Traffic Adjudication and Ability to Pay Annual Report
The Pilot Program for Online Adjudication of Infraction Violations allows qualified California litigants to request reductions in traffic infraction fines and fees in 8 pilot courts, remotely. This report provides …
Imposition And Collection Of Fines, Costs, And Restitution In Pennsylvania Criminal Courts
This research shows how court fines, fees, and restitution affect public defender clients differently than private counsel clients in Pennsylvania criminal courts.
Fees, Fines and Criminal Justice In Tennessee: How It All Works and Why It Matters
In Tennessee, fines and fees are used as both a punishment and a way to fund the justice system and other specific services. This report details the fines and fees …