Warrant Strategy
Managing old warrants aged anywhere from 5 to 25 years contributes to significant backlogs in the legal system. This report highlights Cook County’s strategic efforts to address a backlog of …
Failure to Appear
Predation and the Disproportionate Risk of Driver’s License Suspensions in Economically and Racially Marginalized Communities
Driver’s license suspensions for non-safety reasons such as failure to appear or failure to pay exploit vulnerable groups in order to fill state and local budgets. Analyzing Department of Motor …
Post-Ferguson Class Action Suits Challenging Fine and Fee Schemes in Missouri
Post-Ferguson Class Action Suits Challenging Fine and Fee Schemes in Missouri In 2014, when a police officer in Ferguson, Missouri shot and killed Michael Brown, the City of Ferguson …
Paying the Price New Mexico’s Practice Of Arresting And Incarcerating People For Nonpayment Of Court Debt
In a two-tiered criminal legal system, those with the resources to settle court-imposed debt result in a quick resolution of the case, but those without financial resources and social status …
National Guide to Court Appearances
Missed court appearances are costly for both court systems and court users. Court users and their families may be assessed fines, arrested or serve jail time, while the system pays …
New Mexico SB 47: Driver’s License Suspension Penalties
The New Mexico legislature passed a bill eliminating suspensions for failure to pay and failure to appear. The bill also requires the automatic reinstatement of licenses suspended solely for failure …
Punishing the Poor: An Assessment of the Administration of Fines and Fees in New Mexico Misdemeanor Courts
Low-income people in New Mexico accused of minor crimes are often caught in a vicious cycle where they are jailed because they can’t afford to pay monetary sanctions. In 2018, …
2022 Final Report to the Governor, Legislature, and Supreme Court
Recommendations by the Michigan Joint Task Force on Jail and Pretrial Incarceration to decrease Michigan’s jail population led to the establishment of the Michigan Jail Reform Advisory Council (JRAC). JRAC …
Road to Nowhere: Debt-Related Driver’s License Suspensions in Ohio
Each year, over 1 million drivers in Ohio have a suspended license for failure to pay fines and fees. Using surveys, census data, and five years of debt-related suspension data …
Alabama Takes From the Poor and Gives to the Rich
To raise taxes in Alabama, cities and counties must go through the state legislature to initiate a constitutional amendment allowing them to pass a law to raise property or income …