Ability to Pay Archives - Page 28 of 39 - Fines and Fees Justice Center

$23,000 in traffic fines reduced to $9 for man as pilot program takes on New Orleans’ court system

In March 2017, New Orleans nonprofit Stand with Dignity sponsored a Warrant Clinic in New Orleans. Over 1,200 people (who owed an average of $8,000 in fines and fees) participated in the clinic.

Exploring Supervision Fees In Four Probation Jurisdictions in Texas

This report by the University of Minnesota’s Robina Institute of Criminal Law and Criminal Justice presents findings from a qualitative study examining the interaction between probation outcomes and probation fees in Texas.

Not One but Many: Monetary Punishment and the Fergusons of America

In this article for Sociological Forum, Professors Kasey Hendricks and Daina Cheyenne Harvey examine whether Ferguson’s fines and fees practices are typical among local governments.

Ending the Debt Trap: Strategies to Stop the Abuse of Court-Imposed Fines and Fees

Alexandra Bastien of PolicyLink describes how the imposition of criminal justice fines and fees disproportionately impacts people of color and low-income Americans.

California SB 185: Crimes: infractions.

This bill would have ended the practice of suspending licenses as a sanction for nonpayment of fines and fees. It also mandated that judges reduce fines and fees and provided guidelines for determining a defendant’s ability to pay fines and fees.

Kentucky SB 120: An act relating to crimes and punishments and making an appropriation therefor.

This bill makes dozens of changes to Kentucky’s criminal justice statutes, and several of those changes constitute meaningful fines and fees reform.

Rebellious Social Movement Lawyering Against Traffic Court Debt

Rebellious lawyering empowers those affected by the issue to come up with solutions to their own problems. It should be a collective effort between the lawyers and legal services clients and community members from grassroots organizing groups.

Tennessee SB 802: Revises provisions governing payment plans and stays from license revocation for assessed litigation taxes, court costs, and fines.

This bill creates a mechanism for Tennessee drivers who have unpaid court debt to keep their licenses from being revoked on that basis.

Oklahoma Senate Bill 689: Criminal procedure; judgments and execution of sentences; pilot program; sentencing powers of the court.

This Oklahoma bill, which did not pass, would have amended statutes related to life without parole sentences, payment plans for fines and fees, and how the requirement of restitution can affect conditions of supervision.

Lawful Collection of Legal Financial Obligations: A Bench Card for Judges

This bench card, which can be modified for state and local jurisdictions, advises judges on how to sanction indigent defendants for nonpayment of fines and fees without resorting to incarceration, outlines procedural protections for defendants who are unable to pay, and outlines standards for determining indigence.