Search Results for fines and fees

...Chris Albin-Lackey Abstract The US Department of Justice’s investigation into the Ferguson, MO police department blew the lid off of a hidden, nationwide scandal. Too many police departments and courts all over the country were using predatory fines and fees to extract wealth from their communities...

...Katelyn J. B. King; Amber Petkus; Ebony L. Ruhland Abstract Every state relies on fines and fees to defray the costs of community supervision, and many rely on a combination of monetary sanctions and government aid to operate these programs. Texas is one such state that designs their system...

... for mass incarceration specifically, propelled a staggering increase in criminal justice debt. Unlike the state laws to which the Kelly v. Robinson court deferred, today’s revenue-generating fines and fees practices actually undermine public safety by distorting law enforcement priorities. They deter...

...Virginia R. Smercina; Foster C. Kamanga; Barbara G. Brents Abstract Traffic stops and traffic tickets often have far-reaching consequences for poor and marginalized communities, yet resulting fines and fees increasingly fund local court systems. This study critically explores who bears the brunt...

.... In this article, the Director of Financial Inclusion for the City of Philadelphia’s Office of Community Empowerment and Opportunity discuss how fine and fee reform in Philadelphia is occurring. © The Ohio State University government reform options for change reform efforts Philadelphia fine and fee...

...Maria Katarina E. Rafael; Chris Mai Abstract In criminal courts across the country, judges assess a variety of fines, fees and other legal financial obligations (LFOs) that many defendants struggle to pay. This paper provides a summary of the authors’ longer empirical article that examines...

...Ebony L. Ruhland; Katie Leigh; Amber Petkus Abstract Monetary sanctions exist in every part of the criminal legal system, including community corrections. Fines, fees, restitution, surcharges, and other court costs are included as monetary sanctions. Prior research has highlighted the types...

...Brandon L. Garrett Abstract The scale of criminal debt in the United States has exploded, with local, state and federal court imposing billions in fines and fees on people in criminal cases. If the person lacks the ability to pay or does not pay the fines, still additional financial penalties can...

... of these punishments, especially those for people who fall into different socioeconomic groupings. There is a danger that the well-deserved opprobrium directed at fees and the cumulative effect of legal financial obligations will mask some benefits of properly targeted and calibrated fines. Here, we explore...

...Jordan M. Hyatt; Nathan W. Link Abstract Financial and monetary obligations, a class of sanctions that includes fines, restitution, and a range of fees, are increasingly recognized as playing a significant role in the operation of the justice system, the lives of the people against whom...

... and categorize how the courts and the legislature should structure the assessment of LFOs and consider how local and state programs generate revenue from the criminal legal system. By applying non-criminal taxes, regulatory fees, and user charges jurisprudence to the criminal legal system fines and fees...

...Alexandra Shookhoff; Robert Constantino; Evan Elkin Abstract Increases in both the number and amount of court fees, fines, and surcharges—regardless of offenders' ability to pay—have become standard practice in courthouses throughout the United States. A recent report from the Brennan Center...

... demonstrates the futility of continuing our current supervisory debt practices. Permitting courts to determine a financial assessment of a defendant’s ability to pay, allowing partial debt waiver, and creating an income-based fines and fees system would help ameliorate some of the crushing debt obligations...

... should adopt a classification system for crimes and punishments that is broadly consistent with the approach that many states and the federal government currently employ. Second, the state should replace the current morass of fines and fees imposed in criminal cases with a single monetary penalty. Third...

...Matheson Sanchez; Shytierra Gaston Abstract Until recently, Massachusetts incarcerated criminal justice system clients solely for nonpayment of court-imposed fines and fees. This practice disproportionately penalized disadvantaged clients, further exacerbating their legal involvement. Massachusetts...

..., this piece uses personal history to explore the different financial pressure points used in the criminal legal system: the ecosystem of cash bail, fines, and fees. It outlines differences in the ways such pressure is applied depending on a defendant’s economic standing, and argues that it amounts to a form...

..., specifically African Americans, are disproportionately represented in the amount of people who are incarcerated, implies a racial problem with the justice system in this Country. When you tie together the racial disparity of African Americans incarcerated, and the systematic ways in which the fines and fees...

... described as a pathway to an incarceration stint because of its onerous conditions and other requirements. An emerging literature is examining how one of these conditions, legal financial obligations (e.g., fines, supervision fees, restitution), affect probation outcomes. However, this research is limited...

... of interest and surcharges, even those individuals who make regular payments can face a lifetime of criminal justice debt.24 Fines, fees, and resulting criminal justice debt affect justice-involved individuals abilities to secure basic necessities and place strain on family relationships. Those subject...

... of funds. 2 That may have been an overstatement. The Court seems disinclined to ll the term proportionality with robust meaning or wrestle with Eighth Amendment challenges to nes and fees. Those steps would be required for the Excessive Fines Clause to function as an effective backstop against...