My Right Arm Should be ‘Debt’ and My Left Arm Should be ‘Felony’”: Dual Debt in the Child Support and Criminal Legal Systems

• In Event: Interlocking Systems and Monetary Sanctions

Abstract

Research on civil debts and research on monetary sanctions in the criminal courts has largely examined each system independently, although these state ordered financial obligations overlap in distinct ways. Our study focuses on the unique population of individuals indebted to both the child support system and the criminal-legal system, which we refer to as dual debt. Based on thirty in-depth semi-structured interviews in the state of Minnesota, we investigate the attitudes, behaviors, and experiences of people experiencing dual debt. We find high levels of legal cynicism within this population, particularly due to the severe consequences for non-payment which further entangle people in both systems. Further, we find that individuals engage in system avoidance as a strategy for managing their debts, specifically circumventing financial institutions and the formal labor market. We argue that legal cynicism and system avoidance are interrelated processes rooted in economic precarity exacerbated by multi-system involvement.

Authors

• Hannah Schwendeman, University of Minnesota

• Veronica Horowitz, University at Buffalo, SUNY

• Robert Stewart, University of Maryland

• Ryan Paul Larson, Hamline University

• Kimberly Spencer Suarez, Columbia University

• Frank Edwards, Rutgers University

• Christopher Uggen, University of Minnesota - Twin Cities