Elimination of Fees Archives - Page 10 of 11 - Fines and Fees Justice Center

California AB-2495: Prosecuting attorneys: charging defendants for the prosecution costs of criminal violations of local ordinances.

California’s legislature moved to prohibit the state, cities and counties from charging defendants prosecution fees, including attorney’s fees, unless specifically authorized by state law.

San Francisco County Ordinance No. 131-18: Administrative Code – Criminal Justice System Fees and Penalties

This ordinance abolishes all discretionary fees imposed by San Francisco County.

Illinois HB 5341: Amendment, Criminal Identification Act Section 5.2

This bill provides that a court cannot deny a petition to seal or expunge a criminal record simply because the individual has not satisfied outstanding court debt, and waives certain fees that apply to expungement applications.

California SB 190: Juveniles.

On January 1, 2018, California became the first state to abolish all administrative fees in juvenile delinquency cases.

Punishing Poverty: The high cost of probation fees in Massachusetts

Massachusetts’ probation fees disproportionately impact low-income communities and make it harder for people to succeed. People who can least afford additional fees are more likely to be on probation and …

Confronting Criminal Justice Debt: A Guide for Policy Reform

This Guide for Policy Reform by Harvard Law School’s Criminal Justice Policy Program is organized into four issue areas: conflicts of interest, poverty penalties and poverty traps (when people are forced to pay more or face harsher sanctions because of their poverty), the ability-to-pay determination, and transparency and accountability. Under each of these sections, a description of the problem is followed by legislative, judicial, and executive reform suggestions for people at the state level to use and incorporate into their efforts.

High Pain, No Gain: How Juvenile Administrative Fees Harm Low-Income Families in Alameda County, California

At the time this report was written, by California law, counties were authorized to recoup the costs of their juvenile justice systems by charging administrative fees to juvenile defendants and their families. This policy report takes a close look at Alameda County’s system of administrative fees.

Louisiana House Bill 92: Repeals warrant recall fee collected to fund a misdemeanor jail in East Baton Rouge Parish

This bill allows people who were assessed and paid the warrant recall fee to apply for a refund of that money.

Why Motive Matters: Designing Effective Policy Responses to Modern Debtors’ Prisons

In this essay, Marsh and Gerrick challenge the most common justification for why debtors’ prisons still exist in present-day America: generating revenue to fund local government and courts. The authors argue that revenue generation is an “incomplete explanation” for debtor’s prisons and point to a variety of other factors that could help complete the picture.

Debtors’ Prison for Kids? The High Cost of Fines and Fees in the Juvenile Justice System

This report documents how and when youth and families face fines, fees and restitution and the economic and legal consequences for failure to pay.