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.
Racial Disparities
Driven to Failure: An Empirical Analysis of Driver’s License Suspension in North Carolina
Through the analysis of four decades of individual and county level suspension data, this study describes North Carolina’s population of drivers whose licenses have been suspended and assesses how driver’s …
Driving While Black and Latinx: Stops, Fines, Fees, and Unjust Debts
This paper presents data suggesting that Black, Latinx, and poor people in New York disproportionately suffer the consequences of driver’s license suspensions due to traffic ticket debt and racially disproportionate traffic enforcement.
In Trouble: How the Promise of Diversion Clashes With The Reality of Poverty, Addiction, And Structural Racism In Alabama’s Justice System
This Alabama Appleseed report stems from a survey of 1,011 justice-involved Alabamians. The author provides recommendations for lawmakers, programs, and courts to follow to improve the effectiveness and fairness of diversion.
Re-Prioritizing Traffic Stops To Reduce Motor Vehicle Crash Outcomes and Racial Disparities
In 2010, Fayetteville, North Carolina, experienced a high motor vehicle crash rate while also combating eroding community trust in police. At the request of their newly appointed Chief Harold Medlock, …
Think Debtors Prisons Are a Thing of the Past? Not in Mississippi.
The authors of this feature report detail the lived experiences of poor people sentenced to Mississippi’s restitution centers while they work to earn money to pay off court-ordered debts.
Can’t Win For Losing – How Institutions and Policies Keep Arkansans in Debt
This report presents the findings from an Arkansas Community Institute survey concerning the household debt of Pulaski and Jefferson county residents.
Monetary Sanctions: Legal Financial Obligations in US Systems of Justice
This review provides a historical background of court fines and fees and shows how these costs affect people present day.
Driving on Empty: Florida’s Counterproductive and Costly Driver’s License Suspension Practices
Driving on Empty shows how driver’s license suspension for nonpayment in Florida detracts from public safety, and outlines the racial and economic disparities perpetuated by this practice.
Taxation by Citation? Exploring Local Governments’ Revenue Motive for Traffic Fines
In 1977 California counties received 74 percent of their own-source general funds from property tax, but after Proposition 13, counties’ property tax decreased by over 50 percent. Since the passage …