Fees & Fines
Increasingly, communities attempt to finance the governmental costs by imposing new fees and fines—"legal financial obligations"—on people charged with crimes. Some of these assessments cover the costs of court operations and related service, but other "surcharges" seem designed to finance activities unrelated to the criminal justice system. The trend towards increased fees and fines places what is often additional debt on those who are emerging from prison; often this frustrates the community's own interest in successful re-integration. Through initiatives based in Florida and Maryland, the Brennan Center is uncovering the effects of this new generation of LFOs, and working to ensure that the costs of government are not unfairly shifted to those least able to shoulder them.
Comments to FCC Regarding Prison Phone Rates
The Brennan Center for Justice has submitted a series of comments on a petition asking the Federal Communications Commission ("FCC") to issue a rule dealing with prison phone rates. The Comments urge the FCC to take into account the harms caused by the high costs of phone calls for prisoners, their families, court-appointed attorneys, and social services providers.
Maryland and other states have created a lose-lose situation—funding court and correctional systems by levying fees on those unable to pay them....
Illustrations by Risko
Brennan Center Study Shows Parole Fees Undercut Reentry
Maryland’s parole supervision fee raises little state revenue, while burdening parolees with debt they cannot pay.
Coalition Releases Criminal Justice Policy Roadmap
More than 20 organizations, including the Brennan Center for Justice, and individuals is pleased to announce the publication of a catalogue of key criminal justice issues and policy recommendations for the next administration and congress.
Letter to FCC Urging Action on Outstanding Petition
Letter to the FCC urges the Commission to take action on an outstanding petition to address the harm caused by high phone rates charged to people in prison.
Pinched Courts Push to Bolster Budgets Through Fees and Fines
Valerie Gainous paid her debt to society, but almost went to jail because of a debt to Florida’s courts....
Here is a tale that sounds like it comes right from the pages of “Little Dorrit,” Charles Dickens’s scathing indictment of Victorian England’s debtors’ prisons. Unfortunately, it is happening in 21st-century America....
Collections Court in Leon County, Florida
Selected findings from forthcoming Brennan Center report on court fees in Florida.