THE MONETIZATION OF THE CRIMINAL JUSTICE SYSTEM

The criminal justice system is a source of significant income to many jurisdictions. Policy makers find that the imposition of fines, fees and assessments is an easy way to line government coffers, which meets with little to no political resistance. After all, who would argue that the addition of a $2 mandatory assessment on every misdemeanor, traffic ticket, and felony offense is a financial burden? 

But with the increasing burden of  a multitude of mandatory assessments, fees and fines, in some jurisdictions, such as Arizona, those financial assessments become overwhelming for people in poverty-and it is people in poverty who are most likely to suffer the consequences of those assessments.

Examples of oppressive financial burdens abound.  In 2015 the United States Department of Justice investigated the Ferguson, Missouri police department and found a pattern of abusive practices aimed at generating revenues for the city. Investigation of the Ferguson Police Department, USDOJ (Mar. 4, 2015) Sadly, Ferguson Missouri is not the only jurisdiction in the United States engaging in those practices. 

In Arizona, the legislature has created a spider web of fees, assessments and fines incrementally distributed into the budgets of such diverse programs as the Clean Elections Fund and the Public Safety Equipment Fund. The purpose of the fees, surcharges and assessments is to reduce the cost of various aspects of government, allowing a greater portion of the general fund to be diverted to non-criminal justice budgets.

The cost to individual defendants is staggering. In a recent misdemeanor case SWCEJ discovered that the court imposed fees and assessments in the following amounts for a traffic ticket for violation of the child passenger restraint law against a 67 year old defendant with no serious prior offenses, who was homeless and receiving only $700 a month in SSI benefits

State Child Restraint Assessment                 56.12 

Surcharges (83%)                                         46.58

Additional Assessment                                  13.00

Probation Assessment                                   20.00 (although probation was not imposed)

Victim Rights Enhancement Assessement      2.00 (although no victim was involved)

Traffic Crime Enhancement (83%)                 18.30

Local Partial Payment fee                              10.00

Time Payment fee                                          20.00

When he was unable to make payments as required the court administratively added the following collection fees:

Local FARE Court Fee                                      5.00

FARE fee Special Collection                           41.99

FARE delinquency fee                                     35.00

Local Partial Payment fee over 90 days          30.00

Because the offense was not the type of offense for which the defendant would be sentenced to incarceration, he was not entiled to the appointment of an attorney and did not have the resources to hire an attorney. Had he been represented by counsel, counsel could have asked the court to waive all non-mandatory fees and assessments in the first instance which would have resulted in the reduction of his fianancial burden from $186 to $76. 

How Can Jurisdictions Reduce the Overwhelming Impact of Financial Penalties?

The first thing that must be done is for policy makers, judges, and legislators to stop viewing the criminal justice system as an income stream for government. But other more concrete steps must be taken as well.

The American Bar Association published a document titled "10 Guidelines on Court Fines and Fees" (ABA, Aug. 2018). The gist of the guidelines is that people should not be punished for being poor. The recommendations are primarily legislative but can be applied at the local level as well. 

Other recommendations for reform can be found at the Fines and Fees Justice Center.  

"Our justice system is supposed to operate with integrity – providing equal justice for all. Yet in far too many places in the United States, court fines and fees have put an exorbitant price tag on justice.  Across the country, courts impose fines as a punishment for minor traffic and municipal code violations, misdemeanors and felonies. Courts then tax people with fees, surcharges, and costs used to fund the justice system and other government services."

"Fines and fees devastate the lives of millions of Americans. People who cannot immediately pay face additional fees, license suspensions, loss of voting rights and, far too frequently, arrest and jail. Millions of Americans get trapped in the justice system simply because they can’t afford to pay fines and fees. Stuck in a cycle of punishment and poverty, people can lose their jobs, their homes, and even their children. We’ve created a two-tier system of justice where poor people – and particularly communities of color – are disproportionately punished."