Criminal Justice

Criminal Justice Debt, Fines & Fees

Debts resulting from criminal justice system involvement have exploded as governments have tried to use fines and fees to pay for our bloated carceral system and government operations generally. Many cannot afford to pay and therefore face harmful consequences, such as driver’s license suspensions, incarceration, and barriers to record clearing. NCLC works to address the problems that unaffordable criminal justice debt and harsh collection practices pose to low-income people and people of color.

The High Cost of a Fresh Start: A State-by-State Analysis of Court Debt as a Bar to Record Clearing

February 1, 2022

For the nearly one-third of adults in the U.S. with a record of arrest or conviction, their record is not simply part of their past but a continuing condition that impacts nearly every aspect of their life.

Read More about: The High Cost of a Fresh Start: A State-by-State Analysis of Court Debt as a Bar to Record Clearing
March 1, 2022
March 5, 2019

Featured

View All for Featured
The High Cost of a Fresh Start: A State-by-State Analysis of Court Debt as a Bar to Record Clearing

February 1, 2022

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

March 23, 2023

Advocates Call for Bureau of Prisons to Ditch Proposal to Allow Seizing Prison Wages and Family Support

March 14, 2023

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

March 13, 2023

The Freedom Side Podcast: Caroline Cohn discusses junk fees & mass incarceration

March 2, 2023

Group Comments to FTC Regarding Unfair or Deceptive Fees

February 8, 2023

Biden Administration, FTC Must Crack Down on “Junk Fees” in Criminal Justice System

February 8, 2023

Advocates Applaud Passage of the Martha Wright-Reed Just and Reasonable Communications Act of 2022

December 22, 2022

Amicus Brief in Mendoza v. Strickler

December 8, 2022

Comments & Letters

View All for Comments & Letters
Group Letter to Congress in Support of the Martha Wright Prison Phone Justice Act

September 19, 2022

Group Letter urging the CA Franchise Tax Board to suspend tax refund offsets for collection of state and local debts

March 18, 2022

Group Comments to the FCC re: Prison Telecommunication Company’s Request for Waiver from FCC Requirements

Group Letter to the U.S. Senate Commerce Committee Supporting an Amendment to S. 1541, the Martha Wright-Reed Just and Reasonable Communications Act

Prison Phone Justice in Next Stimulus Package (Group letter)

September 10, 2020

Coalition Letter in Support of the Martha Wright-Reed Just and Reasonable Communications Act of 2019

June 11, 2019

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

March 13, 2023

Group Comments to FTC Regarding Unfair or Deceptive Fees

February 8, 2023

Letter Regarding the FCC’s Draft Order Addressing Carceral Communications

September 21, 2022

Reports

View All for Reports
The High Cost of a Fresh Start: A State-by-State Analysis of Court Debt as a Bar to Record Clearing

February 1, 2022

Collection At All Costs: Examining the Intersection of Mass Incarceration and the Student Debt Crisis

July 12, 2022

Collecting Criminal Justice Debt Through the State Civil Justice System

May 12, 2021

Clearing the Path to a New Beginning  

October 7, 2020

Commercialized (In)Justice Litigation Guide

June 1, 2020

Confronting Criminal Justice Debt: The Urgent Need for Comprehensive Reform

September 2, 2016

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

Report: The Rent-to-Own Racket

February 5, 2019

Criminal Justice Debt in the South: A Primer for the Southern Partnership to Reduce Debt

December 11, 2018

Issue Briefs

View All for Issue Briefs
Criminal Justice Debt: 2022 Federal Priorities

March 1, 2022

What States Can Do to Help Consumers: Criminal Justice Debt

September 20, 2019

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: 2021 Federal Priorities

January 12, 2021

Stabilizing Consumer Finances During and After the Coronavirus Crisis in California

May 19, 2020

Testimony

View All for Testimony
Letter Supporting California’s AB 1186, The REPAIR Act, on Youth Restitution

March 23, 2023

Testimony supporting Massachusetts H. 1900, Telephone Service for Inmates

October 18, 2021

Testimony of Ariel Nelson regarding H.4652, An Act Regarding Decarceration and COVID-19

May 5, 2020

Written testimony before the Judiciary Committee of the Connecticut General Assembly

Written testimony before New York State’s Department of Financial Services, Division of Consumer Protection and Division of Criminal Justice Services, Bail Bond Reform Listening Session

Press Releases

View All for Press Releases
New Report Finds Incarcerated Federal Student Loan Borrowers Systematically Denied Access to Student Loan Relief

July 27, 2022

New Report Highlights How the Rent to Own Industry Coerces Payments from Vulnerable Families

February 21, 2019

Advocates Call for Bureau of Prisons to Ditch Proposal to Allow Seizing Prison Wages and Family Support

March 14, 2023

Biden Administration, FTC Must Crack Down on “Junk Fees” in Criminal Justice System

February 8, 2023

Advocates Applaud Passage of the Martha Wright-Reed Just and Reasonable Communications Act of 2022

December 22, 2022

The High Cost of a Fresh Start: New Report Examines Court Debt as a Barrier to Clearing a Conviction Record

February 14, 2022

New Report: Using Bankruptcy to Discharge Criminal Justice Debt 

October 8, 2020

National Consumer Law Center Advocates’ Statement Regarding U.S. House Passage of HEROES Act

May 15, 2020

New Report Documents Growing Problem of Consumer Abuses Perpetuated by Companies Profiting from Mass Incarceration

March 20, 2019

From the NCLC Digital Library

Collection Actions

The only treatise to detail consumer defenses to debt buyer and creditor collection lawsuits on credit card, medical, criminal justice, and other consumer debts.

Read Chapter One