The Demand for Money Behind Many Traffic Stops
Cities and towns, often those with weakened tax bases or that are barred from easily raising revenue, use fines and fees to raise revenue. Over 730 municipalities rely on fines …
Courts as Revenue Centers
2021 Driving Injustice: Consequences and Disparities in North Carolina Legal and Traffic Debt
An increase in fines, fees, and license suspension for traffic tickets, infractions, and misdemeanors has created a vicious cycle of court debt. People who do not pay their debt within …
Reimagining local public finance: Equitable Reform of taxes, fines and fees
While the American Recovery Plan Act provides local governors flexible funds to replace revenue lost due to the pandemic, local governments should take this opportunity not just to replace revenues, …
The predatory dimensions of criminal justice
Throughout American history, criminal justice has played a critical role in resource extraction from slave patrols to convict leasing, chain gangs and exploitative debt, credit and labor arrangements. Today, as …
Dismantling Policing for Profit: How to Build on Missouri’s Post-Ferguson Court Reforms
After the killing of Michael Brown by a police officer in Ferguson, Missouri, the Department of Justice (DOJ) found Ferguson’s focus on generating revenue over public safety, along with racial …
Step One to an Antiracist State Revenue Policy: Eliminate Criminal Justice Fees and Reform Fines
Many state revenue policies are rooted in racist history and continue to worsen racial inequities and harm public safety. For example, the white supremacist group, the Redeemers, took political power …
Elimination of Cash Bail In Illinois: Financial Impact Analysis
As of January 2023, Illinois courts can longer require cash bail for criminal defendants. Previously, courts would deduct fines, fees, and assessments from bond payments and retain 10 percent of …
California AB 177: Public safety
The California Legislature introduced AB 177 which would end the collection of an additional 17 administrative fees charged to people who come into contact with the criminal system. The bill …
Driven by Debt: The Failure of the OmniBase Program
The OmniBase Failure to Appear Program places holds on license renewals (making it an offense to drive) when the license holder fails to pay fines and fees or fails to …
Cycles of Debt: Research Indicates That Driver’s License Suspensions Over Unpaid Fines Targets Black Drivers
In the first-ever study of failure-to-pay suspensions in the United States, researchers Sian Mughan and Joanna Carroll examined a sample of over 2000 drivers who received traffic tickets in Marion …