The Vera Institute of Justice released a report this month that advocates for reforms, for people with “crushing debt burdens” from criminal-justice system fines, fees and restitution, referrred to in the report as legal financial obligations, or LFOs.
The report, called A Matter of Time: The Case for Shortening Criminal Debt Collection Statutes of Limitations, a 50-State Survey, summarizes what reforms have been implemented in states like California and New Mexico, where successful campaigns resulted in people in those two states relieved of roughly $70 million in court payments each year. “Depending on the political environment, however, eliminating LFOs at the front end of the system may not always be a viable option for reform,” the report notes.
Although the total amount of nationwide debt is difficult to calculate, one survey of 25 states found that as of 2019, the combined amount owed in outstanding LFOs was at least $27.6 billion.
Once LFOs have been imposed, people who are court-ordered to make payments have few options for relief. The Vera reports suggests a few avenues for reform, including the clearing of certain debts by a state’s legislative or executive branches and alterations to debt-repayment practices that would be initiated within the court system itself. The report argues that tweaking some of those practices may actually allow the government to recoup more outstanding debt.
If reducing the amount of debt isn’t possible, Vera’s research suggests reductions in the amount of time – the statute of limitations – when people are subject to court debt.
The report makes the case that reforms are necessary because many system-involved people have little income and struggle to afford their LFOs, which can total thousands of dollars per person. For instance, in Oklahoma, for example, the typical person with a drug possession conviction is charged a $1,000 fine plus a combined $236 in miscellaneous fees. For people with low or no income—who account for the majority of people in the legal system—such amounts can be insurmountable.
One survey of about 1,000 Alabamians found that four in five people gave up basic necessities like rent, food, health care, and car payments in order to pay their LFOs.16 Another, nationally representative survey approximated that 17 million households with children experienced shortfalls in these essentials because a parent was saddled with court debt.
Also, many courts do not differentiate between people who have the ability to pay and those who have few resources – and come from communities with few resources. One empirical study determined that LFOs are more burdensome in high-poverty BIPOC neighborhoods – and that higher rates of LFO assessment are associated with increased future poverty rates across those neighborhoods.