Monetary Sanctions: Legal Financial Obligations in US Systems of Justice
This review provides a historical background of court fines and fees and shows how these costs affect people present day.
Collection Fees and Interest
Payment Plans As A Compliance Tool: Best Practices For Florida Courts
his brief describes the various ways in which payment plans are administered inconsistently across Florida’s counties. The author argues that these conflicting procedures breed confusion among people who have court debt, especially those who owe money to courts in different jurisdictions.
Statutory Inequality: The Logics of Monetary Sanctions in State Law
This article analyzes Illinois laws to investigate the fines and fees people are expected to pay and what happens when they cannot afford to pay these costs.
Report of Statewide Collection of Court-Ordered Debt for 2017-18
This report profiles the collection of unpaid court-ordered fines and fees during the 2017-18 fiscal year in California.
Chicago Ordinance 2018-8115: Amendment of Municipal Code Titles 1 and 9 concerning general provisions of motor vehicle recovery of debt and vehicle impoundment.
In Chicago, Alderman Gilbert Villegas has introduced legislation that would reduce the burden of traffic fines and fees for low-income Chicago residents by providing alternatives to fines and fees and improving access to payment plans.
UNDER PRESSURE: How fines and fees hurt people, undermine public safety, and drive Alabama’s racial wealth divide
This report examines in detail the collateral consequences of Alabama’s court debt system and explores the ways in which it undermines public safety and drives the state’s racial wealth divide.
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.
The Cost of Justice: The Impact of Criminal Justice Financial Obligations on Individuals and Families
Monetary penalties are commonly levied by the criminal justice system. After the increase of incarceration from the tough-on-crime era starting in the 1970s, the burden of funding court operations shifted …
Why journalists should cover local jails
In this article for The Poynter Institute, Al Tompkins underscores the importance of journalists covering local jails and suggests several coverage angles that journalists can use to convince readers to care more about incarceration at the local level.
WA State Courts of Limited Jurisdiction: 2018 Reference Guide on Legal Financial Obligations in Criminal Cases
This bench card is meant to educate Washington State judges about procedural protections owed to defendants who are ordered to pay fines and fees in criminal court.