Trials and hearings have been delayed or canceled across the U.S. to help stop the spread of COVID-19, but that hasn’t stopped many courts from continuing to collect fines and fees, even as millions find themselves out of a job and less able to pay up, The Marshall Project reports. The coronavirus crisis has hit state and local goverments hard. Two main sources of revenue—sales taxes from shuttered restaurants and bars and traffic tickets from now-empty highways have cratered. This is happening as officials are straining to pay for desperately needed medical equipment and unemployment benefits for record numbers of laid-off workers.
As the next round of federal stimulus negotiations continue on Capitol Hill, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin have resisted giving financial support to states and local jurisdictions. States are dipping into rainy-day funds, implementing hiring freezes and issuing fines for violating orders to stay at home and wear masks. Some localities are relying on a tried-and-true revenue stream: the court system and the predominantly low-income people who churn through it. More than $50 billion in fines for committing crimes, fees for using court, late fees and interest is owed to local governments, according to some estimates. The Fines & Fees Justice Center, an advocacy organization and clearinghouse, is maintaining a list of all the jurisdictions that are putting off fines and fees for now. Many local officials are not advertising or announcing that they are doing so, says center co-director Lisa Foster.