Overview Archives - Fines and Fees Justice Center

Four Ways to Improve Tennessee’s Criminal Fee and Fine Data Infrastructure

Tennessee has a complex system of fees and fines, and its decentralized court structure and inconsistent reporting exacerbate difficulties in tracking its full impact. This Sycamore Institute report aims to …

Paying on Probation: How Financial Sanctions Intersect with Probation to Target, Trap, and Punish People Who Cannot Pay

This report shows how payment of fines and fees and supervision costs can affect a person's ability to complete their probation sentence.

Overdue for Justice: An Assessment of Access to and Quality of Juvenile Defense Counsel in Michigan

This report discusses the experience of youth involved in Michigan's juvenile justice system, including access and quality of representation, funding, and oversight of courts.

Framing the System of Monetary Sanctions as Predatory: Policies, Practices, and Motivations

This literature review surveys articles published in the University of California, Los Angeles Criminal Justice Law Review that discuss how court fines and fees may be viewed as predatory.

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.

Nine Facts about Monetary Sanctions in the Criminal Justice System

High expenditures in the criminal justice system have led some jurisdictions to rely on courts and law enforcement to generate new revenue. This report identifies nine facts about monetary sanctions …

Why does the US still have ‘debtors’ prisons’?

This video describes how people, especially those of fewer means, can be jailed for unpaid court fines and fees.

Report on the Special Report on extreme poverty and human rights on his mission to the United States

This report presents the findings from a visit to the United States by the United Nations Special Rapporteur on extreme poverty, Philip Alston. He evaluated government programs and policies aimed to address extreme poverty according to the United States' human rights obligations.

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.

Monetary Sanctions in the Criminal Justice System

This review of law and policy is the first-year report of a five-year study comprising quantitative and qualitative research that provides a detailed understanding of how fines and fees are imposed and enforced across the United States.