Carter v. Montgomery
Hundreds of individuals were assessed fines by the Montgomery Municipal Court for misdemeanors, primarily traffic tickets like driving with a suspended license and other low-level crimes of poverty. When they …
Debtors' Prisons
Living with Conviction: Sentenced To Debt For Life In Washington State
Through storytelling and legal empowerment, Living with Conviction: Sentenced to Debt for Life in Washington State partners with formerly incarcerated individuals to advocate for the end of onerous legal financial …
The Financial Impact of Court-Ordered Batterers’ Intervention Programs in Los Angeles County
This study showcases data from 83 court-ordered batterers' intervention programs in Los Angeles County to determine the range and variety of fees charged by these programs.
Fees, Fines and Criminal Justice In Tennessee: How It All Works and Why It Matters
In Tennessee, fines and fees are used as both a punishment and a way to fund the justice system and other specific services. This report details the fines and fees …
Carceral Immobility and Financial Capture: A Framework for the Consequences of Racial Capitalism Penology and Monetary Sanctions
In this report, the author argues that jurisdictions use monetary sanctions to immobilize people through imprisonment and perpetual financial capture, and decentering racial capitalism prevents scholars from seeing monetary sanctions …
Money and Punishment, Circa 2020
In conjunction with the 23rd Annual Liman Colloquium held in the Fall of 2020, the Arthur Liman Center for Public Interest Law at Yale Law School, the Fines and Fees …
The Price of Justice: Fines, Fees and the Criminalization of Poverty in the United States
Mass incarceration and the rising cost of the justice system correlate with the high number and value of fines and fees imposed throughout the justice system. As federal funding for …
The Explosion of Unpaid Criminal Fines and Fees in North Carolina
The amount of debt owed to North Carolina’s criminal courts has increased at a staggering rate. This report gives a scope of how much debt is uncollectible, identifies the people in the state most harmed by the current system, and pinpoints the case types that yield the lion’s share of this debt.
Fines and Monetary Sanctions
Alexes Harris, the author of this research papers, discusses various criminal legal system fines and fees and argues that imposing these costs can worsen social inequality.
Fant et al. v. City of Ferguson
The City of Ferguson jails people when they cannot afford to pay their traffic debt and cash bonds for other minor offenses. No inquiry is made into the person’s ability to pay, no alternatives to payment are offered to the individuals, and no counsel is provided.