Ability to Pay Archives - Page 9 of 39 - Fines and Fees Justice Center

Understanding the Burden of Legal Financial Obligations on Indigent Washingtonians

Low-income defendants are burdened with fine and fee assessments that they cannot afford to pay. This paper examines administrative court data for criminal cases in limited jurisdiction courts in Washington, …

Segmented Pricing For Fines and Fees

Local governments use fines and fees to discourage negative behavior and raise revenue. However, not everyone can afford to pay, leading to uncollected debt and harm to vulnerable communities. In …

What Is Wrong with Monetary Sanctions? Directions for Policy, Practice, and Research

Monetary sanctions are an increasing form of punishment for criminal offenses that have generated billions of dollars in revenue while also generating massive amounts of penal debt for low-income individuals. …

County Dependence on Monetary Sanctions: Implications for Women’s Incarceration

As the overall incarceration rate has fallen in the United States, the incarceration rate for women has steadily risen in some areas. With the shift to legal financial obligations as …

Incomparable Punishments: How Economic Inequality Contributes to the Disparate Impact of Legal Fines and Fees

In Texas, fines are the standard sentence for Class C misdemeanors encompassing most traffic, public order, city code, and other low-level infractions for which jail time is not statutorily permissible …

Robbing Peter to Pay Paul: Public Assistance, Monetary Sanctions, and Financial Double-Dealing in America

Public assistance helps over 20 percent of the U.S. population mitigate the effects of poverty. In 2017, state and local governments spent $673 billion on public assistance programs. Many people …

Monetary Sanctions as Chronic and Acute Health Stressors: The Emotional Strain of People Who Owe Court Fines and Fees

Sentencing people to fines and fees who do not have the ability to pay or must choose between making payments and basic necessities can have detrimental effects on people’s lives …

How Tennessee Judges Look at Defendnats’ Ability to Pay Fines and Fees

People in Tennessee’s criminal justice system can accrue a multitude of fines and fees, but the impact depends on their ability to pay them. This report dives deeper into ability …

Unjust Revenue from an Imbalanced Criminal Legal System: How Georgia’s Fines and Fees Worsen Racial Inequality

Georgia’s localities are over-reliant on fines and fees revenue, making up more than 10 percent of their general revenue, while the national average among localities was two percent in 2018. …

Beyond Payment Plans: Breaking the Cycle of Court Debt in Tennessee

Tennessee, like many states, relies on fines and fees to fund its criminal justice system. To alleviate the adverse effects of court debt for low income residents, in 2019, the …