Brucker et al. v. The City of Doraville
Plaintiffs argue that by budgeting for revenue from fines and fees, Doraville creates a perverse incentive for the city’s police, prosecutors, and judges.
Private Probation
Commercialized (In)justice: Consumer Abuses in the Bail and Corrections Industry
This report examines two concerning trends: the increasing use of fines and fees to fund the criminal legal system, and functions of that system being outsourced to private companies who profit from the criminal legal system.
McNeil v. Community Probation Services
Community Probation Services, LLC and PSI Probation, LLC, for-profit probation companies, provide probation services for Giles County, Tennessee. The companies add their own fees and surcharges to the court debts of probationers.
Mahoney et al. v. Derrick
Arkansas secures payment of court debt through incarceration, driver’s license suspensions, and probation, for which an additional fee is charged.
Ten Guidelines on Court Fines and Fees
The American Bar Association developed ten guidelines to ensure that fines and fees do not punish people disproportionately for their poverty.
How Fines and Fees Criminalize Poverty: Explained
Fines and fees are levied at every stage of the criminal justice system. People who are poor and unable to pay them are criminalized and face many collateral consequences in …
Ray et al. v. Judicial Correction Services Inc. et al.
This suit against Judicial Correction Services in Alabama alleges that people were placed on probation without adjudication of their guilt nor sentenced to serve jail time.
Personal Narrative: James Brooks
James Brooks paid Leaders in Community Alternatives, a private probation company, $1,629 for 58 days to avoid jail and to continue to be able to care for his ill mother.
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.
Personal Narrative: Karen McNeil
In November 2015, McNeil pled guilty to driving with a revoked license. She was placed on probation for 11 months and 29 days and ordered to pay $426 in fines and fees, $25 each week in court costs and fines, $45 a month in supervision fees, and $45 for each drug test.