Nevada AB 116
The Nevada Assembly approved legislation to decriminalize minor traffic violations and end the practice of issuing warrants when an individual can’t afford to pay the fines and fees imposed. You …
Courts as Revenue Centers
The High Price of Using Justice Fines and Fees to Fund Government in Washington State
Fines and fees can cause severe and destabilizing harm for people required to pay them. Researchers from the Vera Institute of Justice collected and analyzed budget data from state, county, city and …
The High Price of Using Justice Fines and Fees to Fund Government in Virginia
Although Virginia has made progress in limiting collateral consequences from fines and fees, the financial burden of criminal legal fines and fees continues to be a barrier to achieving financial …
Municipal Reliance on Fine and Fee Revenues: How Local Courts Contribute to Extractive Revenue Practices in U.S. in Cities
This report explores the problematic reliance on fine and fee revenue by examining the relationship between local courts, fine and fee revenues, and municipal finances. The author collected and reviewed …
Blood From a Turnip: Money as Punishment in Idaho
In 2019, the Idaho Legislature’s Office of Performance Evaluations (OPE) published a report acknowledging Idaho’s reliance on fines and fees as a source of court funding. According to the report …
The ABCs of Racial Disparity: Enforcement of Low-Level Drug Crimes in Dallas County in 2018
In Dallas County, police discretion determines whether a person will be tried in municipal or county court for possession of marijuana and drug paraphernalia. This report examines the marijuana enforcement …
Reckless Lawmaking: How Debt-Based Driver’s License Suspension Laws Impose Harm and Waste Resources
This report examines the impacts of suspending driver’s licenses as a consequence of unpaid fines and fees and failure to appear in court. 16 individuals who had their license suspended …
Speeding into the Future: The Pitfalls of Automated Traffic Enforcement
With speeding as the leading cause of fatal car crashes in the United States, speed cameras are used in 17 states and the District of Columbia. Along with encouraging safer …
Injustice in the Lowest Courts: How Municipal Courts Rob America’s Youth
In collaboration with the Juvenile Law Center, Columbia Law School’s Community Advocacy Lab examined the constitutions and laws of each of the 50 states and the District of Columbia to …
Crimsumerism: Combating Consumer Abuses in the Criminal Legal System
Increasingly, criminal legal system debt is owed not only to the state, but also to a vast network of private companies profiting from the criminalization of poverty and communities of …