The north Carolina campaign to end Criminal Justice Debt:

THE PROBLEM

For the last quarter century, the North Carolina General Assembly has imposed a dizzying spiral of ever-increasing costs, fines and fees on people who come in contact with our court system, who are disproportionately people of color and almost all of whom are poor.  In addition to a basic "court cost" of at least $173 (N.C.G.S. 7A-304(a)), which includes money earmarked for law enforcement training and retirement accounts, individuals who are convicted of even the most minor, traffic-related offenses face monetary penalties at almost every step of the process.  There are daily fees imposed on those who are unfortunate enough to be housed in a jail (N.C.G.S. 7A-313). Successfully requesting a court appointed lawyer costs $60 up front (N.C.G.S 7A-455.1), in addition to a required reimbursement to the state for the hours provided by the lawyer (N.C.G.S. 7A-455).  If the prosecutor decides to seek forensic testing, a $600 fee is imposed; another $600 if the state decides to bring an expert, even a state employee, to testify at trial (N.C.G.S. 7A-304(a)). People who cannot afford the $250 fee are denied access to community service programs (N.C.G.S. 1438-708(c)), and a person must pay a monthly fee if placed on supervised probation (N.C.G.S. 15A-1343).  Thus, the most common alternatives to imprisonment are not available to those without adequate means. These are just a few examples.

Despite clear constitutional and state law requirements, courts throughout North Carolina routinely impose these financial penalties without inquiring into a person’s ability to pay.  Often these penalties are costly, reaching into the hundreds, thousands, and even tens of thousands of dollars depending on the charges. Consequences for failure to pay fines and fees are high, ranging from incarceration to loss of a driver’s license.  Instead of providing relief, courts often inflict these additional harsh punishments, again without affording the individual an opportunity to demonstrate their inability to meet the obligations.

The impact of these practices, caused by the legislature's determination to shift the burden of running our court system onto the backs of those least able to afford it, is widespread.  Not only are the people in the clutches of the criminal justice system negatively impacted, but their families and communities, suffer as well. To avoid incarceration and risk losing their children, parents are forced to pay the courts instead of buying food or paying the heating bill.  Families of those imprisoned for debt lose their primary wage earner. The thousands of North Carolinians who have their driver's licenses suspended for failure to pay court-ordered sums are faced with the choice of losing their employment or driving illegally. If they choose the latter and are stopped while driving, they of course face not only imprisonment but additional fines and fees.  For many, it is an endless cycle.

GOALS OF THE CAMPAIGN

The primary goal of our campaign is to end the practice of funding court systems off  the backs of those least able to pay. Our current funding system is inefficient and harmful to society. Courts are a public function, and traditionally they have been funded as such. Taxpayers pay for municipal government, law enforcement, and libraries.  For centuries the judicial system was funded in the same way, and it should be funded that way again.

In attaining this overarching goal, there are a number of specific goals that we can aim for:

1. The elimination, or at least a drastic reduction to nominal levels (i.e., levels not intended to fund the court system), of the basic "cost of court" imposed on any person convicted of a crime;

2. The elimination of "fees for service," such as fees imposed on individuals upon asking for, or using, a court-appointed lawyer, or when the prosecutor decides to seek forensic testing;

3. The elimination of the imposition of fees designed to fund what should be taxpayer funded programs, i.e., law enforcement training and retirement;

4. The elimination of all financial barriers to deferred prosecution, probation, or any other program or benefit accorded to those who have adequate financial means;

5. Strict enforcement of requirements for inquiries into an individual’s ability to pay before the imposition of any cost, fine or fee, and before imposition of any punishment or disability imposed because of an individual’s failure to make such monetary payment;  

6. Enactment of rules and laws to make clear that inquiries into an individual’s ability to pay are required before the imposition of any cost, fine or fee, and before imposition of any punishment or disability imposed because of an individual’s failure to make such monetary payment, and further to require that a judge rejects a claim of inability to pay only after making specific findings of fact, supported by information in the record, that are sufficient to support a conclusion that the defendant is able to make the ordered payments; and,

7. Enactment of rules or laws that presume a person who has been found indigent or afforded appointed counsel is unable to pay costs, fines or fees.