What Do We Know About Community Service?
Host Matt Watkins of New Thinking interviewed Harry Glenn and James Brodick from the Center for Court Innovation (CCI) and Joanna Weiss from the Fines and Fees Justice Center about …
Alternatives to Fines and Fees
Work, Pay, or Go to Jail: Court-Ordered Community Service In Los Angeles
This report provides the findings from the first in-depth study of a large-scale court-ordered community service system in modern-day America. The authors examined the experiences of about 5,000 people who were ordered to perform community service by the Los Angeles Superior Court between 2013 and 2014.
Proportionate Financial Sanctions: Policy Prescriptions for Judicial Reform
In this report, the Criminal Justice Policy Program (CJPP) at Harvard Law School proposes a framework where courts would impose means-adjusted fines as a proportionate sentence for an offense. The authors assert that by adopting the proposed recommendations, courts can ease or prevent the worst harms that excessive financial sanctions create for poor people without waiting for legislative reforms.
Court-Ordered Community Service: A National Perspective
Community service mandates date back to the late 1960s as an alternative to incarceration for nonviolent crimes. It has since evolved into a component of monetary sanctions or probation rather …
Texas Senate Bill 1637: Fines, fees, and costs
This legislation makes several changes to Texas courts’ imposition and collection of fines and fees, with a particular emphasis on defendants’ ability to pay and alternatives to fines and fees for indigent defendants.
Florida SB 734: Penalties and fees; driver’s license suspensions
The bill provides that driver’s licenses may not be suspended for failure to pay fines and fees unless the person has the ability to pay but refuses to do so. It also provides that courts must provide alternatives to immediate payment of fines and fees for people who are indigent, such as payment plans and community service.
Legal Financial Obligations in Wisconsin
Wisconsin’s use of legal financial obligations (LFOs) as a revenue mechanism is a long-established practice. The state enacted its first surcharge in 1977, and the number has grown significantly since. …
Kansas Supreme Court: Ad Hoc Committee Report on Bonding Practices, Fines and Fees in Municipal Courts
This report was published by the Kansas Supreme Court following a rigorous assessment of Kansas municipal court practices. It advances 18 recommendations for judges and courts to more fairly and constitutionally impose and enforce fines and fees and outlines an implementation plan for reform.
Ten Guidelines on Court Fines and Fees
The American Bar Association developed ten guidelines to ensure that fines and fees do not punish people disproportionately for their poverty.
Texas Chapter 175 Collections Improvement Program (1 TAC §175)
Starting in 2018, Texas’ Office of Court Administration (OCA) made changes to the rule that requires Texas counties and cities with a population of 100,000 or more to implement a Collection Improvement Program (CIP). The CIP webpage also includes a variety of sample language for court and program staff to use, including “Sample Payment Plan Application” and “Sample First Written Notice.”