Past Due investigates a significant, widespread matter of injustice in New Orleans and throughout the country: the routine imposition of financial bail and sentencing fines and fees on mostly indigent criminal defendants. These practices come with hidden costs to defendants and taxpayers alike, from collections costs to jail time. We will measure the true costs of relying on “users” (defendants) to fund criminal justice agencies (judges, prosecutors, public defenders…) and develop recommendations for a just and sustainable funding structure. 

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Past Due

Examining the Costs and Consequences of Charging for Justice in New Orleans

In 2015, government agencies in New Orleans collected $4.5 million in the form of bail, fines and fees from people involved in the criminal justice system and, by extension, from their families. Another $4.7 million was transferred from the pockets of residents to for-profit bail bond agents. These costs have become the subject of considerable publ...

Publication
  • Mathilde Laisne, Jon Wool, Christian Henrichson
January 09, 2017
Publication
While government agencies in New Orleans collected $4.5 million in revenue from bail, fines and fees, it cost the city $6.4 million to jail people who couldn’t pay these costs.