Ellinburg v. United States
Issue Whether restitution under the Mandatory Victims Restitution Act (MVRA) is legally a criminal punishment. Holding Restitution under the MVRA is plainly criminal punishment for purposes of the Ex Post …
Restitution
Public Opinion Survey about Alternatives to Financial Restitution
Building on a study which found that the harms caused by the crime and the restitution process rarely align, the authors administered a survey to 4200 respondents to assess public …
Understanding Victim Experiences with Restitution: Research Toolkit
Restitution reform has largely remained outside of the scope of fines and fees reform due to both differing rationales and intended recipients. This toolkit helps jurisdictions identify how data and …
Better for Everyone: Repairing Harm for Crime Survivors and Young People: San Francisco’s New Approach to Youth Restitution
The purpose of juvenile restitution is to financially compensate the crime survivor for their loss and to hold the young person accountable for their actions. In San Francisco, crime survivors …
Legal Financial Obligations in Washington State: Final Report
Washington state code refers to 376 unique criminal legal financial obligations (LFOs) that stem from misdemeanors, gross misdemeanors, or felony convictions. The Washington State Institute for Public Policy (WSIPP) used …
Is There a Link Between Criminal Debt and Recidivism in Reentry?
To determine whether legal financial obligations (LFOs) are criminogenic, the author analyzed a multistate data set from the Urban Institute’s Returning Home Studies. The study followed formerly incarcerated men through …
Fines and Fees Are a Barrier to Criminal Record-Clearing
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 …
Eliminating fees in the Alameda County juvenile justice system meaningfully reduced financial burdens on families
Parents and families are typically responsible for the financial responsibilities imposed on minors by the juvenile justice system. In 2018, California became the first state to repeal administrative fees in …
Fines Prevent Too Many People From Voting In Florida
In 2018, Floridians approved the constitutional amendment to restore voting rights to nearly everyone with a criminal record upon completion of their sentence. 1.4 million people became eligible to vote …
The Financial Impact of Court-Ordered Batterers’ Intervention Programs in Los Angeles County
This study showcases data from 83 court-ordered batterers' intervention programs in Los Angeles County to determine the range and variety of fees charged by these programs.