Conflicts of Interest Archives - Page 4 of 9 - Fines and Fees Justice Center

Town Hall: Beyond Policing for Profit

This special report follows up on the January 2022 AL.com investigative report shedding light on Brookside’s police department’s aggressive ticketing and towing practices to raise revenue for the department and …

Revenue Over Public Safety

Economic and financial incentives for law enforcement, state, local and federal governments, and for-profit private corporations have fueled punitive enforcement and mass incarceration. This report details economic incentives that are …

Justice by Geography: The Role of Monetary Sanctions Across Communities

Although state statutes often dictate the amount of fines and fees imposed, local courts have significant discretion in how they carry out the laws and there is variation between courts …

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 …

Policing-for-Profit Undermines Public Safety. This Town Shows A Better Way

Relying on tickets to fund government is counterproductive to public safety and can erode trust between community and law enforcement while worsening long-standing economic inequalities when residents can’t afford to …

Race Representation and Revenue: Reliance on Fines and Forfeitures in City Governments

The Department of Justice’s Ferguson report suggests cities with a higher population of Black people and an overrepresentation of White people in their law enforcement agencies levy fines at higher …

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 …

Fowler v. Missouri Sheriffs’ Retirement System

Fowler v. Missouri Sheriffs’ Retirement System 623 S.W.3d 578 (2021) Issue: Whether the statute allowing counties and municipal courts to assess and collect a $3 surcharge that goes towards the Missouri …

The New Due Process: Fairness in a Fee-Driven State

Courts, prosecutors, and law enforcement work together to assess and collect fines, fees, and forfeitures that fund the justice system – a conflict of interest and a violation of due …

The Impact of Fines, Fees, and Forfeitures on Policing

Law enforcement agencies across the nation, like many local and state governments, rely on fines, fees, and forfeitures for funding. The heavy fines, parking citations and unnecessary incarceration that result …