State Debt-Based Car Registration Suspension Laws
Each state has a law permitting the nonrenewal or cancellation of a car registration for nonpayment of a debt to the state or arising from a state-controlled system. Because every …
Collateral Consequences
Parham v. D.C.
Issue Starting in October of 2023, the District of Columbia will stop denying residents the ability to renew their driver’s license if they have outstanding debt to the city, including …
Increasing Justice In New York: How New York Could Go From Failing to First in the Nation on the Fines and Fees Justice Index
With dozens of fees and fines at every stage of the legal system, New York has created a two-tiered justice system that engulfs low-income people in the criminal legal system. …
The Fines and Fees Justice Index
In December 2022, The National Center for Access to Justice updated its Fines and Fees Justice Index. The last update was in May 2020. The Fines and Fees Index gives …
Removing Barriers to Youth and Family Success: The Role of State Juvenile Cost of Care Fees
For youth in Idaho, courts assess fines and fees with little regard for how their lives may be affected. Cost of care fees, also known as parent reimbursement fees, can …
Reducing the Harms of Court Debt: Driver’s License Revocations are an Ineffective Policy for Increasing Court Collections
Since 2011, Tennessee law has allowed for the revocation of a driver’s license for overdue court debt, but a temporary policy change from July 2018 to July 2021 halted driver’s …
Locked Out 2022: Estimates Of People Denied Voting Rights Due To A Felony Conviction
Laws and policies across the United States have disenfranchised an estimated 4.6 million people as of 2022 due to felony convictions. This report chronicles felony disenfranchisement over the past 20 …
Alaska v. Jouppi
Issues 1. Whether the forfeiture of property based on being utilized in the commission of a crime is subject to the excessive fines clause of the U.S. Constitution. 2. Whether, as …
Redesigning Public Safety: Traffic Safety
Traffic stops are the most common reason for contact with the police in the United States, burdening Black drivers who disproportionately experience harassment and racial profiling. Along with being subject …
“Another Place to Warehouse People”: The State Where Halfway Houses Are a Revolving Door to Prison
In Colorado, about 50 percent of people return to prison within three years of release–one of the worst recidivism rates in the country. The 26 state-funded halfway houses meant to …