Bail and Criminal Justice Fines and Fees in New Orleans: The Human and Financial Impacts

Session Submission Type: Complete Thematic Panel

Abstract

This panel will examine the financial and human toll of financial bail and criminal justice fines and fees in New Orleans. While bond fees and other fines and fees provide modest revenues to the city, these practices create and lengthen unnecessary jail stays, and are incredibly costly to a mostly poor segment of the population. The panel will examine the role of these practices in driving up the jail incarceration rate and establish the costs, including jail-bed days, that result from inability to pay. Panelists will discuss the results of qualitative research to uncover the financial and wellbeing costs to individuals of bail and fines and fees. Finally, the panel will investigate a model to monetize the total costs to individuals and families, including lost pay and the risk of physical and sexual assault, caused by jail incarceration.

Sub Unit

• Area VII: Criminal Justice Policy and Practice / 35: Challenging Criminal Justice Policies

Individual Presentations

• Fines, Fees, and the Threat of Jail: The Long Reach of the User-Funded Justice System in New Orleans - Stephen Roberts, Vera Institute of Justice

• The Financial, Emotional, and Wellbeing Costs of Fines, Fees, and Bond in New Orleans - Ayesha Delany-Brumsey, Vera Institute of Justice

• Modeling the Human Cost of Jail Incarceration in New Orleans - Chris Mai, Vera Institute of Justice

Chair

• Mathilde Laisne, Vera Institute of Justice, New Orleans Office