Collateral Consequences Archives - Page 6 of 27 - Fines and Fees Justice Center

Dual Debtors: Child Support and Criminal Financial Legal Obligations

Using interviews and administrative data to link individuals owing both child support and criminal monetary sanctions in Minnesota, the authors highlight the experiences, perspectives, and behavioral strategies of people who …

A Debt of Care: Commercial Bail and the Gendered Logic of Criminal Justice Predation

Commercial bail extracts millions of dollars from justice-involved individuals and their families every year, but little research exists on the inner working and operational processes of the bail industry. Associate …

Small Fines And Fees, Large Impacts: Ability-To-Pay Hearings

Excessive fines and fees on low-income people threaten our criminal justice system and violate the Constitution’s Due Process and Excessive Fines Clauses. The Fourteenth and Eighth amendment requires courts to …

The Criminalization Of Poverty In Tennessee

14 percent of Tennessee’s population lives below the poverty line, and while communities faced unaffordable housing costs, unemployment, and inadequate public transportation, counties used public funds to expand jails. From …

North Carolina Court Appearance Project

In North Carolina, nonappearance for a court case can lead to driver’s license suspension, an order for arrest, and jail time. Nearly 250,000 court appearances are missed annually in North …

Civil Assessments: The Hidden Court Fee That Penalizes Poverty

California allows courts to charge a civil assessment fee of up to $300 to people who miss a deadline to pay or appear in court. An estimated 300,000 people receive …

Spiraling Criminal Debt

North Carolina in recent decades moved to a user- fee model allowing courts to impose any number of fines and fees when a criminal case is resolved through a plea …

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 High Cost of a Fresh Start: A State by State Analysis of Court Debt as a Bar to Record Clearing

A criminal record can make it hard to get a job, support a family, secure housing, vote, and ultimately pay off fines and fees. Despite efforts by states to provide …

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 …