Ability to Pay Archives - Page 15 of 40 - Fines and Fees Justice Center

First Steps Toward Equitable Fines and Fees Practices: Policy Guidance on Ability-to-Pay Assessments, Payment Plans, and Community Service

Jurisdictions across the country continue to impose disproportionate fines and fees. Until reform can be made, assessing a person’s ability to pay is critical to achieving fairness and equity in …

The Price of Justice: Fines, Fees and the Criminalization of Poverty in the United States

Mass incarceration and the rising cost of the justice system correlate with the high number and value of fines and fees imposed throughout the justice system. As federal funding for …

Community Success Initiative, et al. v. Moore, et al.

In North Carolina, roughly 70,000 individuals are prohibited from voting because they have a prior felony conviction, and in many cases individuals are disenfranchised solely because of their inability to …

Champagne v. Linebarger Goggan Blair & Sampson, LLP

Linebarger Goggan Blair & Sampson, LLP (“Linebarger”) has an exclusive contract with the Iowa Judicial Branch to act as the sole private company collecting court debt, including court costs, such …

Price of Justice- Challenging the Future of Fines and Fees

This report summarizes the progress five states made in fines and fees reform, the challenges they experienced, and guidance for other jurisdictions interested in reforming their court systems.

Cited for Being in Plain Sight: How California Policies Being Black, Brown, and Unhoused in Public

This report is a detailed analysis of non-traffic infraction data from California which shows that minorities are cited at higher rates than White people.

New York’s Ferguson Problem- How the state’s racist fee system punishes poverty, lacks transparency, and is overdue for reform

This paper shows how New York’s criminal justice fines and fees practices worsen racial disparities and punish low-income people.

Ability to Pay