Targeted Fines and Fees Against Communities of Color
The U.S. Commission on Civil Rights issued a landmark report detailing the disproportionate harms that communities of color suffer from fines and fees.
Excessive Fines Clause
Justice Network v. Craighead County
The plaintiff alleged that the two defendant-judges instituted an “Amnesty Program” that forgave fees owed by probation clients to the plaintiff, which interfered with the contractual relationship that existed between the plaintiff and its probation clients. Furthermore, the plaintiff alleged that the defendant judges used their judicial office and powers to unlawfully take plaintiff’s substantial property rights without due process of law.
Missoula v. Franklin
This case challenges the imposition of a surcharge by the City of Missoula that is not authorized by state law.
A Fine Scheme: How Municipal Fines Become Crushing Debt in the Shadow of the New Debtors’ Prison
As budgets tighten, municipalities have turned to fines and fees to fill empty coffers. The result is that the rich may walk away, while the poor must pay or stay.
State Bans on Debtors’ Prisons and Criminal Justice Debt
This Note makes the case for considering state constitutional and statutory prohibitions on debtors’ prisons alongside Bearden v. Georgia claims in legal advocacy opposing excessive fines and fees.
The Growing and Broad Nature of Legal Financial Obligations: Evidence from Court Records in Alabama
This report provides granular data on the imposition and payment of fines and fees in Alabama. The authors gathered and analyzed 200,000 court records over the last two decades to provide a comprehensive picture of the assessments of fines and fees across the state.
Nickel and Dimed into Incarceration: Cash-Register Justice in the Criminal System
The article provides an overview of criminal justice fines and fees; applies the Sixth Amendment jury trial right to these fines and fees; considers the question of “when criminal justice debt rises to the level of punishment; and suggests several solutions to the problem.