Johnson v. Goodwin
Johnson v. Goodwin (Formerly Johnson v. Jessup) Case No. 1:18-cv-00467 (M.D. N.C. 2022) On March 3, 2022, a federal court accepted a settlement in this class action lawsuit brought against the …
Ability to Pay
Resolve Traffic Debt: Advocate Toolkit
North Carolina automatically suspends a person’s driver’s license for failure to pay court fees or fines for a motor vehicle offense. Approximately 300,000 North Carolinians have long-term driver’s license suspensions …
The New Due Process: Fairness in a Fee-Driven State
Courts, prosecutors, and law enforcement work together to assess and collect fines, fees, and forfeitures that fund the justice system – a conflict of interest and a violation of due …
Why We Need to Stop Suspending and Revoking Driver’s Licenses Due to Debt
The Prosperity Now Scorecard rates states on their progress toward racial economic justice in several policy areas. The 2022 policy update includes an assessment of which states have ended the …
Justice-Involved Individuals and the Consumer Financial Marketplace
Contact with the justice system can destabilize people’s financial situation. This report by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau outlines the challenges justice-involved individuals and their families face due to predatory …
Red-Light and Speed Cameras: Analyzing the Equity and Efficacy of Chicago’s Automated Camera Enforcement Program
This report analyzes Chicago’s automated red-light and speed camera program. Using data from red-light and speed camera tickets issued between 2016 and 2019, the authors evaluate the distribution of camera …
The Price of Justice: Legal Financial Obligations in Washington State
Utilizing survey responses from key stakeholders, the Washington State Minority and Justice Commission’s report gathers insights into the current landscape of policies and practices around legal financial obligations (LFO) and …
What is Wrong with Monetary Sanctions? Directions for Policy, Practice, and Research
Each year tens of millions of people are assessed fines, fees, and other costs stemming from their contacts with the criminal legal system, ranging from felony convictions to traffic violations. …
Police In This Tiny Alabama Town Suck Drivers Into Legal ‘Black Hole’
Brookside, a small town in Alabama with 1,253 residents and six miles of roads to patrol, has more than doubled its town’s income as fines and forfeitures rose 640 percent …
It’s Time To Reform Washington’s Harmful System Of Fines And Fees
People with low incomes, disabilities, and Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC) shoulder much of the harm from the legal financial obligations (LFOs) levied in Washington’s criminal legal system. …