This amicus brief, filed on behalf of scholars of criminal, constitutional law, poverty law and access to justice, describes the importance of conducting a robust due process and equal protection analysis when examining the imposition of sanctions on persons without regard to their ability to pay. Read the brief
Focus Area: Fairness in Criminal Outcomes
The Explosion of Unpaid Criminal Fines and Fees in North Carolina
In over 1.72 million cases total – and 120,000 cases each year criminal courts in North Carolina have imposed fees that a person cannot or does not pay. A failure to comply with the court order to pay, or an “FTC,” is then entered in the case. This report sheds light on the scope of […]
Risk assessment in sentencing and plea bargaining: The roles of prosecutors and defense attorneys
This article explores the extent to which considerations of risk are made among prosecutors and defense attorneys when advocating for given sentences in open court or during plea negotiations. The authors surveyed all prosecutors and defense attorneys in 14 judicial circuits in Virginia and found that most prosecutors and defense attorneys at least “sometimes” explicitly […]
Wealth, Equality, and Due Process
“Equal process” claims arise from a line of Supreme Court and lower court cases in which wealth inequality is the central concern. That equal process connection is at the forefront of a wave of national litigation concerning some of the most pressing civil rights issues of our time, including: the constitutionality of fines, fees, and […]
Risk and resources: A qualitative perspective on low‐level sentencing in Virginia
Anne Metz, John Monahan, Brandon Garrett, Luke Siebert in Journal of Community Psychology (2019). This article, co-authored by Faculty Director Brandon Garrett, explored the use of the Nonviolent Risk Assessment (NVRA) used in Virginia when judges sentenced people convicted of drug and property crimes. Read the article