Conference track
Practice tool type
Issued:
Description
Many states and local jurisdictions rely on fines and fees to balance their budgets, effectively shifting the cost of government services onto the accused and their families. The resulting "criminal justice debt" can have crippling consequences when individuals are unable to pay, including prolonged state supervision, wage garnishment, driver's license suspension, and even incarceration. This session will discuss the criminal justice debt-related measures enacted during the COVID-19 crisis, as well as in the wake of the mass protests against police violence. It will also address how lessons from the pandemic and the protests can inform our fines and fees strategy moving forward and how we can seize this political moment to make long-overdue reforms.
