Local Justice in Practice: How Poverty and Legal Debt Intersect with Justice System Programs and Practices

Session Submission Type: Complete Thematic Panel

Abstract/Description

This panel examines how poverty and legal debt intersect with justice system practices, highlighting the local programs and policies that shape outcomes for system-involved individuals. Drawing on data from multiple jurisdictions (Georgia, Missouri, and Philadelphia), the panel explores how individuals’ ability to pay legal financial obligations (LFOs)—such as fines, fees, and restitution—is assessed and how these assessments impact access to diversion programs and case outcomes. Panelists will discuss the discretionary nature of indigence determinations, revealing how court actors navigate limited guidance and how this contributes to unequal treatment across jurisdictions. The panel also highlights the importance of strong partnerships between researchers and justice practitioners in evaluating and implementing interventions aimed at reducing the burdens of justice debt. Through the lens of a pretrial diversion program, the panel explores both the operational challenges of coordinating such interventions and the barriers individuals face in entering and completing these programs, particularly those tied to financial constraints. Across all presentations, there is a focus on identifying disparities linked to race, ethnicity, and socioeconomic status, as well as on providing actionable recommendations to enhance equity, reduce collateral consequences, and inform broader reforms in poverty governance and justice system policy.

Sub Unit

• Area VI. The Criminal Justice System / 46. Courts & Sentencing

Individual Presentations

• Piecemeal Justice: Localized Indigence Assessments and Their Implications for Poverty Governance - Brittany Martin, University of Rhode Island; Andrea Giuffre, California State University, San Bernardino

• Enhancing Researcher-Practitioner Partnerships During a Pilot Randomized Evaluation of a Pre-trial Justice Debt Relief Intervention - Clare Strange, Drexel University; Jordan Hyatt, Drexel University; Nathan W. Link, Rutgers University-Camden; Kathleen M. Powell, Drexel University

• A Process Evaluation of Philadelphia’s Accelerated Rehabilitative Disposition (ARD) Diversion Program - Nathan W. Link, Rutgers University-Camden; Clare Strange, Drexel University; Jordan Hyatt, Drexel University; Kathleen M. Powell, Drexel University

Discussant

• Tim Curry, Fines and Fees Justice Center