The Hidden Fines & Fees that Create 21st-Century Debtors’ Prisons in America
A John Jay Media Fellowship Program
Few Americans are aware that prisons and jails confine thousands of people whose main offense is that they are too poor. Confronted with an accumulation of fees and fines associated with both felony and non-felony convictions as well as unpaid tickets and other civil penalties, they wind up behind bars in what amounts to a 21st century version of debtors’ prisons.
The large numbers of individuals victimized by what is sometimes called “cash register justice” are among the reasons why jail populations are overflowing in many American communities. And the costs are enormous: Fines and fees imposed by local justice systems around the U.S. drive unemployment, family instability, recidivism and poverty in the most at-risk communities.
Just as problematic: Two-thirds of all prison inmates have criminal justice debts, which complicates their successful reintegration into the community.
The onerous burden of justice fines and fees is often obscured by media and policymakers’ attention to other areas of justice reform. As a result, the dearth of consistent, informed reporting on this issue has helped to keep the costs, and their consequences, hidden to many Americans; and it has created a troubling gap in public understanding of the current state of our justice system.
The Center on Media, Crime and Justice (CMCJ) at John Jay College, with the support of Arnold Ventures, formerly known as the Laura and John Arnold Foundation, is organizing a two-year program of media training workshops for U.S. journalists to help fill that gap.
Fifteen journalists have been selected for the second workshop, scheduled for Sept. 26-27, 2019. For the official press release and description of the program, please click here.
A PDF of the Sept 26-27 program can be downloaded here.
The first round of the program, on March 7-8, 2019, brought together 21 journalists with elected policymakers, researchers and practitioners who have special expertise on the issue, along with individuals who have been impacted, at John Jay College. Their names and affiliations are below. For a list of Round 1 Fellows and their bios, click here.
Speakers at the first conference included Joanna Weiss, co-director of the Fines and Fees Justice Center; Marc A. Levin, vice president of criminal justice policy at the Texas Public Policy foundation; Nusrat Choudhury, deputy director of the ACLU Racial Justice Program; and Anne Stuhldreher, director of financial justice of the City and County of San Francisco. For a list of Round 1 speakers and their bios, click here.
The program for the March 2019 conference (Round I) is available here.
The Cash Register Justice Fellowship is one of a series of programs aimed at promoting and developing evidence-based reporting on emerging justice issues, organized through year by the CMCJ.
DEVELOPING STORIES
https://thecrimereport.org/2020/02/24/california-weighs-statewide-move-to-cut-court-fines-and-fees/
https://thecrimereport.org/2019/11/05/22-counties-defy-california-law-on-juvenile-fees/
RESOURCES/LINKS FOR JOURNALISTS AND RESEARCHERS
Fines & Fees Justice Center
SUBSCRIBE to the Fines & Fees Justice Center here.
Brennan Center Report on Debtor’s Prisons Nov. 21, 2020
https://thecrimereport.org/2019/11/21/report-calls-for-an-end-to-debtors-prisons/
Addicted to Fines Governing
Small towns in much of the country are dangerously dependent on punitive fines and fees. Special report by Mike Maciag, Governing magazine, August, 2019
Debtors Prisons for Kids Juvenile Law Center
Driver’s License Suspensions in the U.S. (Power Point) Fines and Fees Justice Center
Fines and Fees in the Juvenile Justice System (Powerpoint) Jessica Feierman
High Pain, No Gain: How Juvenile Administrative Fees Harm Low-Income Families in Alameda County, California (2016) Jeff Selbin, UC Berkeley School of Law/Policy Law Clinic
High Pain, No Gain: How Juvenile Administrative Fees Harm Low-Income Families in Alameda County, California (2016) Jeff Selbin, UC Berkeley School of Law/Policy Law Clinic
Making Families Pay: The Harmful, Unlawful, and Costly Practice of Charging Juvenile Administrative Fees in California (2017) Jeff Selbin, UC Berkeley School of Law/Policy Law Clinic
Understanding Monetary Sanctions (Powerpoint) Alexes Harris, University of Washington
PHOTO GALLERY-SPEAKERS
All photos by David Greenwald unless otherwise noted
REPORTS FROM THE CONFERENCES
ROUND TWO:SEPT 26-27 2019
Unconstitutional Application of Cash Bail Makes St. Louis ‘Less Safe’
by Tony Messenger/St. Louis Post Dispatch
Unconstitutional Use of Cash Bail Makes Cities Less Safe: Conservative Group
Shake Down’ Culture of US Courts Hits Poorest Americans: Judge
By TCR Staff Sept. 30, 2019
https://thecrimereport.org/2019/09/30/shake-down-culture-of-u-s-courts-hits-poorest-americans-judge/
Local Resistance, Corporate Profits Fuel America’s Debtor’s Prisons
TCR Sept. 27, 2019
https://thecrimereport.org/2019/09/27/local-resistance-corporate-profit-fuel-americas-debtors-prisons-conference-told/
ROUND ONE: MARCH 6-7, 2019
Court Fines, Fees Trap Poor People for Life
by David Greenwald/Davis Vanguard
https://www.davisvanguard.org/2019/03/court-fines-and-fees-are-literally-trapping-poor-people-in-the-system-for-life/
“Driven to Debt”
March 7, 2019 by Nancy Bilyeau/TCR
Driven to Debt: How Traffic Fines ‘Punish Americans for Their Poverty’
Can Local Governments Stop Relying on ‘Cash Register Justice’?
Roman Gressier/TCR/March 8, 2019
Can Local Governments Stop Relying on ‘Cash Register Justice’?
RELATED REPORTS
Income-Based Fines Could Reduce Justice Debts for Poor: Study
FELLOWS STORIES
Jesse Bogan/St. Louis Post Dispatch
Lawyer Lands in Jail for Trespassing May 10, 2019
Alex Burness/Colorado Independent
Colorado Could Limit Jail Time for Poor Defendants March 14, 2019
Colorado was Set to Repeal Death Penalty This year. What Went Wrong? April 2, 2019
Cassie Chew/ABA Journal
David Greenwald /Davis Vanguard
California Bill Would Restrict Ability to Collect Court Administrative Fees May 7, 2019
https://www.davisvanguard.org/2019/05/bill-by-senator-mitchell-would-restrict-ability-to-collect-court-administrative-fees/
Nadege Green, WLRN
Nov. 21, 2019
Study: May Not be Cost Efficient for States Like Florida to Suspend Licenses for Unpaid Fines
Sept. 6, 2019
Can’t Pay Court Fees? In Florida, You Could Lose Your Driver’s License
NPR Market Place
Many States Still Suspend Driver’s Licenses for Unpaid Fines Not Related to Driving , Sept. 25, 2019
Kala Kachmar, Asbury Park (NJ) Press
Ticket-Fixing Judge Could Be Disbarred March 14, 2019
Meghan Keneally, ABC NEWS.com
Oct 25 2019
‘It’s Not America’: 11 Million Lose Driver’s License Over Unpaid Fines
Kira Lerner, The Appeal
June 26, 2019
The ‘Poverty Trap’: How For-Profit Pretrial Services Drive Americans into Debt
Michelle Liu, Mississippi Today
Meridian Will No Longer Throw People in Jail for Unpaid Fines April 3, 2019
Meaghan McDermott, Rochester Democrat & Chronicle
April 27, 2019
New York Would Let You Pay Traffic Tickets on Installment
June 17, 2019
Penalizing Poverty: In Upstate NY, Driver’s License Suspensions Unravel Lives
Marsha Mcleod/Investigative Post
The Cost of Suspending Driver’s Licenses, 5-21-19
(Mcleod was an observer at the conference)
Juliette Rihl/PublicSource
Feb. 25, 2020
Pennsylvania Mulls Driver Amnesty for ‘Catch 22’ Traffic Fine Trap
Feb 13, 2020
The True Cost of Justice Debt: How a $25 Traffic Fine Can Cost $150
Feb 6, 2020
$206 or Jail: A 15-Year-Old Traffic Fine Leads to a Painful Choice
Matt Sledge/The Advocate
Does a 540K Escrow Account Solve New Orleans’ Court Fee Problem? Advocates aren’t buying it. Nov. 12, 2019
New Orleans Judges: Legislature, Not City Hall is Venue for Changing Rules on Court Costs Nov 13, 2019
New Orleans Tussle Over Court Fees Offers Little Relief to Poor Defendants
New Orleans Magistrate Rolls Over Defendants’ Rights 3-19-19
After Months in Jail, Homeless Man Pleads Guilty 4-3-19
Jailed 80 Days, Homeless Man Sparks Furor Over New Orleans Bail Practices
Andy Stiny/Albuquerque Journal
Study says Court Fines, Fees Overused in Santa Fe County Dec 6, 2019
Elizabeth Weill-Greenberg The Appeal
The Push to End Punishment Fever Against People With HIV April 11, 2019
Overdose in an Arizona Prison? Prepare to Pay Up May 3, 2019
Izabela Zaluska, Wisconsin Watch
Sept. 15, 2019
Paying to Stay in Jail: Hidden Fees Turn Inmates into Debtors