Who Pays? The True Cost of Incarceration on Families
This report is the result of a collaborative research project from 20 community-based organizations that studied the costs of incarceration on families across 14 states.
Cost-Benefit Analysis
Municipal Violations: Last Week Tonight with John Oliver
In this video, John Oliver details the devastating impacts that low-income Americans suffer due to fines and fees and the involvement of private probation companies.
Unified But Not Uniform: Judicial Funding Issues in Alabama
This study explains how the current lack of uniformity in funding of Alabama’s courts, even after the 1973 establishment of the Unified Judicial System (UJS), warrants a second wave of reform.
US: For-Profit Probation Tramples Rights of Poor
This video by Human Rights Watch shows how private probation companies can strip people of basic necessities and jail them because they can’t afford to pay their court debt and exorbitant probation fees.
The Hidden Costs of Florida’s Criminal Justice Fees
This report examines the impact of the Florida Legislature’s decision to levy “user fees” on people accused and convicted of traffic violations, misdemeanors and felonies without providing exemptions for the indigent.
The Assessment and Consequences of Legal Financial Obligations in Washington State
To develop an understanding of how fines and fees are imposed and enforced in Washington State, this study analyzes 50 interviews with Washington State residents as well as data from 3,366 Washington Superior Court cases.