Discretionary Disenfranchisement: The Case of Legal Financial Obligations

Meredith, Marc; Morse, Michael A.

doi:10.1086/694323

Cited by 17 publications

(12 citation statements)

References 13 publications

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“…The lasting effects of LFOs is related in part to the fact that most CJ related debt cannot be discharged in bankruptcy (Lewandoski, 2010 ) and failure to pay can result in re-incarceration (Wamsley, 2019 ). Furthermore, CJ debt can impact civic engagement through affecting eligibility to vote and the ability to maintain a driver’s license (Martin et al, 2018 ; Meredith & Morse, 2017 ; Salas & Ciolfi, 2017 ).…”

Section: Literature Reviewmentioning

confidence: 99%

Debt, Incarceration, and Re-entry: a Scoping Review

et al. 2020

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People involved with the criminal justice system in the United States are disproportionately low-income and indebted. The experience of incarceration intensifies financial hardship, including through worsening debt. Little is known about how people who are incarcerated and their families are impacted by debt and how it affects their reentry experience. We conducted a scoping review to identify what is known about the debt burden on those who have been incarcerated and their families and how this impacts their lives. We searched 14 data bases from 1990 to 2019 for all original research addressing financial debt held by those incarcerated in the United States, and screened articles for relevance and extracted data from pertinent studies. These 31 studies selected for inclusion showed that this population is heavily burdened by debt that was accumulated in three general categories: debt directly from criminal justice involvement such as LFOs, preexisting debt that compounded during incarceration, and debts accrued during reentry for everyday survival. Debt was generally shown to have a negative effect on financial well-being, reentry, family structure, and mental health. Debts from LFOs and child support is very common among the justice-involved population and are largely unpayable. Other forms of debt likely to burden this population remain largely understudied. Extensive reform is necessary to lessen the burden of debt on the criminal justice population in order to improve reentry outcomes and quality of life.

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Section: Literature Reviewmentioning

confidence: 99%

Debt, Incarceration, and Re-entry: a Scoping Review

et al. 2020

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“…Although there is a Supreme Court ruling ( Bearden v. Georgia , 461 U.S. 660 1983 10 ) against failure to pay being the basis of probation revocation or reincarceration, scholars and advocates have found evidence that inability to pay is indeed associated with expanded custody (ACLU 2010, N.d.b; ACLU of Louisiana 2015; ACLU of Washington & Columbia Legal Services 2014; Harris et al 2016). In fact, this issue often motivates the questions legal scholars explore in the realm of debt from unpaid monetary sanctions, many of whom emphasize the resurgence of debtor’s prisons and the resulting implications for constitutional law (e.g., Appleman 2016; Bellacicco 2013; Eaglin 2015; James 2002; Logan 2019; Levingston and Turetsky 2007; Meredith and Morse 2017; Wagner 2010; Sobol 2017; Zatz 2015).…”

Section: Sociological Inquiriesmentioning

confidence: 99%

“The Plurality of Perspectives on Monetary Sanctions”: An Introductory Essay

Martin

2020

Sociological Perspectives

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The importance of monetary sanctions as a topic of sociological inquiry derives from both their ubiquity in American criminal justice and the socioeconomic realities of many people, especially those ensnared in the criminal legal system. This essay reviews the literature on monetary sanctions across various fields, including applied research, economics, criminology, political science, public policy, and sociology. Early approaches tended to be more system evaluations, whereas later work emphasizes the structural determinants of monetary sanctions and their impacts. Insights from research across time and discipline foreshadow the contemporary debate about monetary sanctions and are important precursors to the work in this volume.

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“…A burgeoning literature on monetary sanctions documents how these debts shape individuals' lives and negatively affect their employment prospects, health, families, and ability to exit the justice system (Colgan, 2018;Harris et al, 2011;Meredith & Morse, 2017), and how these effects are disproportionately concentrated in communities of color (Harris et al, 2010). In addition, the discretion available to court actors in the process of imposing and collecting monetary sanctions has led to practices that have been described as inconsistent and inequitable (Ruback & Shaffer, 2005).…”

Section: The Case Of Monetary Sanctionsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“Are You Able-Bodied?” Embodying Accountability in the Modern Criminal Justice System

Cadigan

Smith

2020

Journal of Contemporary Criminal Justice

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Monetary sanctions are a common tool for enforcing accountability within the criminal justice system. However, it is unclear how individuals with disabilities who have a limited capacity to work interact with the system of monetary sanctions. Drawing on courtroom observations and interviews in Washington State, we find that although the court does take disability into account when imposing economic sanctions and monitoring payment compliance, individuals with disabilities end up in a perpetual cycle of administrative hearings that can result in serious financial and health consequences for those involved. Implications for findings are discussed.

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Discretionary Disenfranchisement: The Case of Legal Financial Obligations

Cited by 17 publications

References 13 publications

Debt, Incarceration, and Re-entry: a Scoping Review

Debt, Incarceration, and Re-entry: a Scoping Review

“The Plurality of Perspectives on Monetary Sanctions”: An Introductory Essay

“Are You Able-Bodied?” Embodying Accountability in the Modern Criminal Justice System

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