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 …
Ability to Pay
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 …
Cycles of Debt: Research Indicates That Driver’s License Suspensions Over Unpaid Fines Targets Black Drivers
In the first-ever study of failure-to-pay suspensions in the United States, researchers Sian Mughan and Joanna Carroll examined a sample of over 2000 drivers who received traffic tickets in Marion …
Nickels and Dimes? Rethinking the Imposition of Special Assessment Fee on Indigent Defendants
No fine is imposed if the judge determines the defendant lacks the ability to pay any fine, but every defendant is required to pay a special assessment fee of $100 …
The Future of Felon Disenfranchisement Reform: Evidence from the Campaign to Restore Voting Rights in Florida
In 2018, Amendment 4 sought to end felon disenfranchisement in Florida. This article outlines the history of Amendment 4 and shows how unpaid fines and fees undermined the campaign’s efforts. …
Financial Health and Criminal Justice: The Impacts of Involvement
The Financial Health Network surveyed 573 individuals about their own or a household member’s experience with the justice system to better understand the impacts on their financial health. Researchers surveyed …
NV SB219
The Nevada legislature passed legislation to end the practice of suspending an individual’s driver’s license, or prohibiting an individual from applying for a driver’s license, due to a delinquent fine, …
Nevada AB 116
The Nevada Assembly approved legislation to decriminalize minor traffic violations and end the practice of issuing warrants when an individual can’t afford to pay the fines and fees imposed. You …
The High Price of Using Justice Fines and Fees to Fund Government in Washington State
Fines and fees can cause severe and destabilizing harm for people required to pay them. Researchers from the Vera Institute of Justice collected and analyzed budget data from state, county, city and …
Blood From a Turnip: Money as Punishment in Idaho
In 2019, the Idaho Legislature’s Office of Performance Evaluations (OPE) published a report acknowledging Idaho’s reliance on fines and fees as a source of court funding. According to the report …