Pandemic lays bare North Carolina’s reliance on fines and fees
This report discusses the growth of fee revenue in North Carolina and how the pandemic has exposed pre-existing issues concerning the use of fine and fee revenue.
Collateral Consequences
Court Costs, Fines, And Fees Are Bad Policy- Recommendations For Illinois Legislators
This policy brief discusses the history and issues of court fines and fees nationally and specifically in Illinois.
Escaping the Long Arm of the Law? Racial Disparities in the Effect of Failure-to- Pay License Suspension
This paper studies the unintended consequences of suspending driver’s licenses for failure to pay by examining the effect of suspension on the likelihood of receiving future tickets. Researchers followed defendants …
Paying on Probation: How Financial Sanctions Intersect with Probation to Target, Trap, and Punish People Who Cannot Pay
This report shows how payment of fines and fees and supervision costs can affect a person's ability to complete their probation sentence.
Report on the Economic Well-Being of U.S. Households in 2019, Featuring Supplemental Data from April 2020
For the first time, the Federal Reserve collected information about how criminal legal debt from fines and fees affects American families.
On Thin Ice: Bureaucratic Processes of Monetary Sanctions and Job Insecurity
This article shows how court debt collection practices affect employment opportunities based on research conducted in Illinois and Washington State.
Fines and Monetary Sanctions
Alexes Harris, the author of this research papers, discusses various criminal legal system fines and fees and argues that imposing these costs can worsen social inequality.
In Trouble: How the Promise of Diversion Clashes With The Reality of Poverty, Addiction, And Structural Racism In Alabama’s Justice System
This Alabama Appleseed report stems from a survey of 1,011 justice-involved Alabamians. The author provides recommendations for lawmakers, programs, and courts to follow to improve the effectiveness and fairness of diversion.
Michigan Joint Task Force on Jail and Pretrial Incarceration Report and Recommendations
Michigan’s jail population has tripled from 1975 to 2016. To learn what led to this dramatic increase and identify alternatives, state and county leaders launched the Michigan Joint Task Force …
Can’t Win For Losing – How Institutions and Policies Keep Arkansans in Debt
This report presents the findings from an Arkansas Community Institute survey concerning the household debt of Pulaski and Jefferson county residents.