Racial Disparities Archives - Page 9 of 18 - Fines and Fees Justice Center

The Price of Poverty in North Carolina’s Juvenile Justice System

To better understand the role of poverty in shaping outcomes in North Carolina’s juvenile justice system, the authors conducted interviews and surveyed attorneys, social workers, scholars and youth advocates. This …

The ABCs of Racial Disparity: Enforcement of Low-Level Drug Crimes in Dallas County in 2018

In Dallas County, police discretion determines whether a person will be tried in municipal or county court for possession of marijuana and drug paraphernalia. This report examines the marijuana enforcement …

Speeding into the Future: The Pitfalls of Automated Traffic Enforcement

With speeding as the leading cause of fatal car crashes in the United States, speed cameras are used in 17 states and the District of Columbia. Along with encouraging safer …

Driving DC to Opportunity: Wealth Should Not Determine Who Gets to Keep Their Driver’s License

DC’s Clean Hands Law restricts driver’s license privileges for court debt above $100. This report shows how this law punishes poverty, exacerbates inequalities, negatively impacts employment opportunities, and contributes to …

Independent Review: The City of Buffalo School Zone Safety Program & An Analysis of Citation Data from the City of Buffalo Speed Camera Program

The City of Buffalo installed 20 speed cameras as part of their School Zone Safety Program to reduce School Zone vehicle crashes. This analysis attempts to determine whether the City …

Living with Conviction: Sentenced To Debt For Life In Washington State

Through storytelling and legal empowerment, Living with Conviction: Sentenced to Debt for Life in Washington State partners with formerly incarcerated individuals to advocate for the end of onerous legal financial …

Set Up to Fail: How Court Fines & Fees Punish Poverty and Harm Black Communities in Virginia

Virginia’s courts impose millions of dollars of debt from fines and fees that excessively burden Black Virginians. Through an analysis of five years of data from the State Compensation Board …

Individual and Geographic Variation in Driver’s License Suspensions: Evidence of Disparities by Race, Ethnicity and Income

A suspended license can severely limit an individual’s access to healthcare services and social and economic opportunities. However, many states use driver’s license suspension as a compliance tool for violations …

Carceral Immobility and Financial Capture: A Framework for the Consequences of Racial Capitalism Penology and Monetary Sanctions

In this report, the author argues that jurisdictions use monetary sanctions to immobilize people through imprisonment and perpetual financial capture, and decentering racial capitalism prevents scholars from seeing monetary sanctions …

Money and Punishment, Circa 2020

In conjunction with the 23rd Annual Liman Colloquium held in the Fall of 2020, the Arthur Liman Center for Public Interest Law at Yale Law School, the Fines and Fees …