Courts as Revenue Centers Archives - Page 17 of 18

Investigation of the Ferguson Police Department

After Michael Brown was shot by a member of the Ferguson Police Department, the Department of Justice’s investigation uncovered a pattern of racially discriminatory practices by the Ferguson Police Department which were primarily rooted in the city’s dependence on the criminal justice system to raise revenue. The publication of the Ferguson report is widely viewed as the start of the movement to reform fines and fees in the U.S.

Missouri SB 5: Modifies distribution of traffic fines and court costs collected by municipal courts

This Act significantly modifies various provisions related to local government revenue in Missouri, including the imposition and enforcement of fines and fees in municipal courts. The Act imposed a 20% cap on municipal court revenue from fines and fees everywhere in the state except St. Louis County, where the cap was 12.5%.

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.

The Debt Penalty: Exposing the Financial Barriers to Offender Reintegration

Contact with the criminal legal system often results in the assessment of fines and fees. For people who are indigent or subject to other financial obligations such as child support …

Report on the Results of the Arizona Judiciary Pilot Collections Project

This Arizona collections pilot program aimed to test whether a temporary reduction in fine amounts might increase court revenues.

Office of the New York State Comptroller: Report on the Justice Court Fund

This 2010 Justice Court Fund report from the New York State Comptroller details revenue trends in New York's local courts.

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.

Political Economy at Any Speed: What Determines Traffic Citations?

Using data from traffic stops in 350 Massachusetts municipalities, the authors found that “the likelihood and dollar amounts of fines are decreasing functions of local property tax revenue”—in other words, the more cash-strapped a municipality is, the more likely police officers are to issue traffic tickets (and larger traffic tickets).

Justice Most Local: The Future of Town and Village Courts in New York State

In 2007, New York’s Special Commission on the Future of the New York State Courts visited nearly 100 courts in every judicial district, met with hundreds of judges and court officials, and heard testimony from 85 witnesses in order to learn more about the status of New York town and village courts. This report is the product of their comprehensive, first-of-its-kind review of New York’s town and village courts.

Court Debt and Related Incarceration in Rhode Island from 2005 through 2007

Rhode Island’s most frequent cause of incarceration is court debt, which not only causes inefficient use of state finances, but disrupts people’s lives. To determine the extent to which incarceration …