Criminal Legal System

Across the country inequities in our justice system further disadvantage low-wage workers, particularly people of color.  Even for the most minor infractions, fees, fines and unpaid bail can result in long jail stays without judicial recourse, exacerbated by the loss of income and employment.  Reentry into the job market after a jail or prison term is challenging under the best circumstances.  EARN partners document how criminal justice dysfunction undermines the prospects of thousands and suggest policies that can open pathway improvements in the economic prospects—and therefore the long-term economic stability—of formerly incarcerated people and their families.

Publications

Publication

Criminal Fines and Fees: An Age-Old Tool That Has Enslaved, Oppressed, and Disenfranchised Black Floridians

To chart an equitable course forward for all Floridians, we must first understand the journey that brought us to where we are today. The following publication is the third in FPI’s “Pursue Equity” series, a part of a multi-year research initiative on Florida’s historically discriminatory policies, their evolution, and their impact on all Florida communities today.

Publication

Bail reform will make Ohioans healthier

  • November 4, 2021
  • Samuel Johnson, Tanisha Pruitt, PhD, Piet van Lier

Most Ohioans believe that we all deserve a justice system that treats everyone fairly, no matter how much money we have or the color of our skin. But on any given day in Ohio, as many as 12,600 people are incarcerated before they have even gone to trial. Local judges have increased the number of people held in jail pretrial, from fewer than 3,000 in 1978. Today, those jailed pretrial often outnumber individuals serving jail time post-conviction, even as overall crime rates have fallen. Excessive rates of pretrial detention have contributed to growing concerns about the effectiveness and constitutionality of the current bail system.