Court Costs, Fees & Assessments in Criminal Cases - LIVE WEBINAR

COURT COSTS, FEES & ASSESSMENTS IN CRIMINAL CASES: Worth the Cost? Or Impediment to Reentry & Rehabilitation?

Most people believe (correctly) that both the United States and Rhode Island Supreme Courts have ruled that it is unconstitutional to imprison a person simply because they are poor. But the devil is in the details. Lower courts not only in Rhode Island but across the United States have found creative ways to do just that.

The presenters will discuss and review:

• The "lay of the land" under both state and federal law
Groundbreaking and comprehensive legislation passed by the RI General Assembly in 2008 that reformed the ways in which court costs, fines, fees, and restitution were supposed to be assessed, collected, and in appropriate cases, waived in whole or in part. The key component of the legislation made it easier and faster for a court to assess an indigent defendant’s ability to pay. Despite claims to the contrary it did not require waiver in any case, instead providing a framework for judges to accurately assess indigency and the possibility of waiver. Research commencing in 2015 proved that these reforms are usually honored in the breech and that approximately 17% of all commitments to the ACI annually are as a result of an inability to pay.
• The changes necessary to make these reforms effective, now.
• Finally, as a matter of criminal justice, social, and public policy, is it wise to use the state’s judicial system to raise money for the state?