North Carolina in recent decades moved to a user- fee model allowing courts to impose any number of fines and fees when a criminal case is resolved through a plea …
North Carolina automatically suspends a person’s driver’s license for failure to pay court fees or fines for a motor vehicle offense. Approximately 300,000 North Carolinians have long-term driver’s license suspensions …
This report analyzes Chicago’s automated red-light and speed camera program. Using data from red-light and speed camera tickets issued between 2016 and 2019, the authors evaluate the distribution of camera …
People with low incomes, disabilities, and Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC) shoulder much of the harm from the legal financial obligations (LFOs) levied in Washington’s criminal legal system. …
The perceived legitimacy of the justice system and public safety may be undermined by the fiscal incentives resulting from states linking revenue from fines and fees to police and court …
In Mississippi, judges lock up people while they work to earn money to pay off court fees, fines, and restitution, without an end date. People spend an average of four …
Monetary sanctions are an increasing form of punishment for criminal offenses that have generated billions of dollars in revenue while also generating massive amounts of penal debt for low-income individuals. …
In Texas, fines are the standard sentence for Class C misdemeanors encompassing most traffic, public order, city code, and other low-level infractions for which jail time is not statutorily permissible …
Using an analysis of criminal court administrative data and in-depth interviews with decision-makers and defendants in Minnesota, the authors find that Native Americans are subject to the largest overall legal …
Nationally, court debt is estimated to be over $27 billion; unpaid monetary sanctions creates barriers for system-involved individuals who try to clear their criminal records through expungement, including the cost …