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Criminal Justice

The criminal justice system and the collateral consequences that flow from it disproportionately harm low-income people and people of color. NCLC uses consumer law tools to stop abusive practices perpetrated against justice-involved people, including imposition of unaffordable fines and fees, debt-based barriers to criminal record clearing, harsh debt collection tactics, and predatory profiteering by public and private actors that impose unfair charges on captive consumers.

Key Topics

Background Checks

Fighting inaccurate and discriminatory criminal background checks that are a bar to jobs and housing.

Consumer Issues for Justice-Involved Individuals

Working to stop unfair financial practices in the criminal justice system and to ease re-entry.

Criminal Justice Debt, Fines & Fees

Addressing harmful debts resulting from criminal justice system involvement.

Featured

Recent Resources

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Seizing Family Homes to Collect Prison Fees

July 30, 2025

Boston City Council Supports End to Debt-Based Driving Restrictions

July 9, 2025

Road to Opportunity Act: Stories from Impacted Drivers

June 9, 2025

What States Can Do to Regulate Tenant Screening

May 29, 2025

Massachusetts Lawmakers, Advocates Host Briefing to Discuss Bill to End Debt-Based Driving Restrictions

May 22, 2025

Testimony Supporting Bill to End Colorado’s Practice of Charging Medical Copays to People in Prison

April 23, 2025

Amicus Brief to First Circuit Supporting FCC’s Rule on Incarcerated People’s Communications Services

April 21, 2025

Comments on Bureau of Prisons’ Proposed Rule on the Inmate Financial Responsibility Program

February 18, 2025

Seizing the Safety Net: Collecting Criminal Justice Debt with Tax Refund Offsets

January 30, 2025

Comments & Letters

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Comments on Bureau of Prisons’ Proposed Rule on the Inmate Financial Responsibility Program

February 18, 2025

Group Letter to the FCC re: Implementation of the Martha Wright Reed Just and Reasonable Communications Act, WC Docket Nos. 12-375, 23-62

December 17, 2024

Joint Comments to the FCC Regarding Incarcerated People’s Communications Services & Implementation of the Martha Wright-Reed Act

October 21, 2024

Comments on Proposed Medicaid and Medicare Program Rules Amending Definition of Custody for Purposes of Medicare Exclusion (CMS-1809-P)

September 9, 2024

Civil Rights Letter to the FCC in Support of Lower Prison Communication Rates

June 17, 2024

Comments on Healthcare Consolidation RFI to DOJ FTC HHS

May 30, 2024

Comments to the Bureau of Prisons Re: Proposed Rule on Money-Transfer Services

April 1, 2024

Comments on Treasury Department’s Request for Information on Financial Inclusion

February 20, 2024

Comments on FTC’s Proposed Rule on Junk Fees, Specifically on Junk Fees that Affect Justice-Involved People

February 7, 2024

Reports

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Seizing the Safety Net: Collecting Criminal Justice Debt with Tax Refund Offsets

January 30, 2025

Medical Debt Behind Bars: The Punishing Impact of Copays, Fees, and Other Carceral Medical Debt

September 6, 2024

Digital Denials: How Abuse, Bias, and Lack of Transparency in Tenant Screening Harm Renters

September 26, 2023

Sentenced to a Life of Debt: It Is Time for a Reassessment of How Bankruptcy Law Intersects with Fines and Fees to Keep People in Debt

February 16, 2022

Broken Records Redux: How Errors by Criminal Background Check Companies Continue to Harm Consumers Seeking Jobs and Housing

December 10, 2019

Confronting Criminal Justice Debt: A Guide for Policy Reform

September 6, 2016

Issue Briefs

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What States Can Do to Regulate Tenant Screening

May 29, 2025

Robbed Behind Bars: Identity Theft Committed Against Incarcerated Victims

January 27, 2025

What States Can Do To Help Struggling Consumers

January 2, 2025

2025 Consumer Protection Federal Priorities

October 21, 2024

Captive Concerns: Incarcerated People Face Obstacles to Reporting Consumer Abuses

July 22, 2024

State Digital Justice Advocacy Toolkit

August 16, 2023

Zombie Records: How Sealed or Expunged Court Records in Tenant & Employment Screening Reports May Illegally Cost People Jobs & Housing

June 29, 2022

Criminal Justice Debt: 2022 Federal Priorities

March 1, 2022

Criminal Justice Debt: 2021 Federal Priorities

January 12, 2021

Testimony

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Testimony Supporting Bill to End Colorado’s Practice of Charging Medical Copays to People in Prison

April 23, 2025

Joint Testimony Supporting MA I.D. Bill for People Released from Prison

January 25, 2024

Testimony In Support of MA H.B. 1493 / S.B 998, re: Immediate Record-Sealing

January 16, 2024

Testimony in Support of MA H.B. 1598 / S.B. 979, “An Act providing for easier and greater access to record sealing”

January 16, 2024

Testimony Supporting Massachusetts Bills H.3314 & S.2227: An Act to End Debt-Based Driving Restrictions and Remove Economic Roadblocks

November 9, 2023

Letter to the California State Assembly in Support of The End Debtor’s Prison Act (AB 1266 – Kalra)

April 14, 2023

Testimony Supporting California’s AB 1186, The REPAIR Act, on Youth Restitution

March 23, 2023

Testimony of Ariel Nelson Before the Maryland House Economic Matters Committee in Support of H.B. 251

January 24, 2022

Testimony in Support of MA S. 1559

November 2, 2021

Press Releases & News

View All for Press Releases & News
Seizing Family Homes to Collect Prison Fees

July 30, 2025

Boston City Council Supports End to Debt-Based Driving Restrictions

July 9, 2025

Massachusetts Lawmakers, Advocates Host Briefing to Discuss Bill to End Debt-Based Driving Restrictions

May 22, 2025

New Report Examines the Harms of Seizing Tax Refunds to Collect Criminal Justice Debt  

January 30, 2025

Incarcerated People Are Frequent Targets of Identity Theft

January 27, 2025

CFPB Orders Money Transfer Provider to Return $3 Million to Incarcerated People and Their Families

November 14, 2024

Medical Debt Behind Bars: New Report Examines the Impact of Medical Debt on Incarcerated People

September 10, 2024

CFPB Takes Aim at Misleading, Incomplete, and Old Information in Background Check Reports

January 11, 2024

Gov. Healey and Mass. Legislature Put Families Over Prison Profiteering with Free Phone Calls for Incarcerated People

November 20, 2023

Amicus Briefs

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Amicus Brief to First Circuit Supporting FCC’s Rule on Incarcerated People’s Communications Services

April 21, 2025

Amicus Brief: City of Grants Pass, Oregon v. Johnson

April 11, 2024

Amicus Brief in Mendoza v. Strickler

December 8, 2022

Amicus Brief in Oregon v. Dunham

October 19, 2022

Amicus Brief in Pearson v. Hodgson

October 12, 2021

Amicus Brief: BBBB Bonding Corp. v. Caldwell

August 5, 2021

Amicus Brief in Scholl v. Mnuchin

August 21, 2020