Traffic Fines and Fees Archives - Page 11 of 20 - Fines and Fees Justice Center

Personal Narrative: Valencia

After three years of having her driver's license suspended, Valencia, a Florida resident, was only able to restore her driving privileges by paying more than a $1000 in reinstatement costs and to get on a payment plan.

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 …

White et al. v. Shwedo et al.

Plaintiffs allege that South Carolina’s policy and practice of suspending the driver’s licenses of individuals who cannot afford to pay traffic fines and fees without first holding hearings to determine an individual’s ability to pay and the willfulness of their nonpayment(s) punishes individuals for their poverty.

Work, Pay, or Go to Jail: Court-Ordered Community Service In Los Angeles

This report provides the findings from the first in-depth study of a large-scale court-ordered community service system in modern-day America. The authors examined the experiences of about 5,000 people who were ordered to perform community service by the Los Angeles Superior Court between 2013 and 2014.

Personal Narrative: Jean

Jean didn't know her license was suspended until an officer told her during a routine traffic stop. Her license was suspended for nonpayment of traffic tickets she received years prior. Just when she thought she had taken care of all of her court debt, her license was revoked and she faced additional issues after she relocated.

The Price of Taxation By Citation: Case Studies of Three Georgia Cities The Rely Heavily on Fines and Fees

The concept of taxation by citation and its subsequent harms are dissected and analyzed in this Institute for Justice report. Through the profiling of three Georgia cities–Morrow, Riverdale, and Clarkston–the authors use traffic and ordinance violation data to suggest that these towns’ use of code enforcement power is geared towards revenue generation rather than public safety.

Proportionate Financial Sanctions: Policy Prescriptions for Judicial Reform

In this report, the Criminal Justice Policy Program (CJPP) at Harvard Law School proposes a framework where courts would impose means-adjusted fines as a proportionate sentence for an offense. The authors assert that by adopting the proposed recommendations, courts can ease or prevent the worst harms that excessive financial sanctions create for poor people without waiting for legislative reforms.

Traffic Fines and Fees