Income-Based Fines Could Reduce Justice Debts for the Poor: Study
"Some
300,000 Americans owed nearly $136 billion in criminal debt in 2017,
the last year for which data is available, according to a study
sponsored by the Brookings Institute.
An astonishing 90 percent of that debt is categorized as
unrecoverable by the federal government, said the study authored by
Prof. Beth A. Colgan of the UCLA School of Law.
But in the process, the escalating court fees and fines often end up
locking low-income individuals behind bars in the modern equivalent of
“debtors’ prisons” when they can’t pay, Colgan wrote.
In her study, sponsored by the Hamilton Project of Brookings, Colgan
proposed a system of “graduated sanctions” that would be levied
according to a person’s ability to pay."
Link to Full Report
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Showing posts with label criminal justice fines. Show all posts
Showing posts with label criminal justice fines. Show all posts
Monetary Sanctions in the Criminal Justice System
"Monetary sanctions have always been part of the U.S. criminal justice system. Today they are receiving new attention, as recent social, political, and legal developments have raised questions about how they affect poverty, racial and socioeconomic inequality, and the fair and efficient admininistration of justice. This summary report draws on evidence culled from reviews of statutes and case law in nine states to draw attention to the policies and practices that govern the imposition, enforcement, and implications of legal financial obligations."
"Monetary sanctions have always been part of the U.S. criminal justice system. Today they are receiving new attention, as recent social, political, and legal developments have raised questions about how they affect poverty, racial and socioeconomic inequality, and the fair and efficient admininistration of justice. This summary report draws on evidence culled from reviews of statutes and case law in nine states to draw attention to the policies and practices that govern the imposition, enforcement, and implications of legal financial obligations."
National Report from Harvard Raises New Concerns About Criminal Justice Fees
"A national report from Harvard University joins a growing body of literature criticizing the way criminal justice fees and fines are implemented. The report arrives as Massachusetts lawmakers prepare to consider criminal justice reform.
The report was released by the Harvard Kennedy School's Program in Criminal Justice Policy and Management, along with other research institutes. It argues that fines and fees 'can, if left unchecked, have long-term effects that significantly harm the efforts of formerly incarcerated people to rehabilitate and reintegrate.'"
View the Report
"A national report from Harvard University joins a growing body of literature criticizing the way criminal justice fees and fines are implemented. The report arrives as Massachusetts lawmakers prepare to consider criminal justice reform.
The report was released by the Harvard Kennedy School's Program in Criminal Justice Policy and Management, along with other research institutes. It argues that fines and fees 'can, if left unchecked, have long-term effects that significantly harm the efforts of formerly incarcerated people to rehabilitate and reintegrate.'"
View the Report
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