Over the last several decades, with the rise of mass incarceration in the United States and its steep costs, governments at the federal, state, and local levels have dramatically ramped up monetary punishment. Monetary sanctions are now the most common type of criminal penalty in the United States. The growth of fines, fees, and other legal financial obligations (LFOs), and the ensuing legal debt, reflect a shifting of the system’s costs onto its primarily low-income and indigent subjects. This study provides an exploration of previously underexamined ways in which monetary sanctions impose distinct burdens on the poor. Interviews with 121 defendants in Texas and New York, along with courtroom observations, demonstrate that criminal legal debt is particularly challenging for people with low incomes in three meaningful ways. First, systems set up to handle indigency claims do not adequately address the needs or complex individual circumstances of those who simply do not have the ability to pay. Oftentimes, alternatives are unavailable or statutorily prohibited. Second, the lack of alternatives to payment lead to compromising situations, which then compel indigent defendants to make difficult choices about how to allocate scant resources. Finally, being encumbered with fines and fees and participating in alternatives like community service comes with taxing time requirements that can prove uniquely challenging for those who are poor. These three findings lead us to propose a series of policy recommendations revolving around three key themes: (a) enhancement of indigency procedures, (b) equity in monetary sanctions, and (c) alleviating burdens by improving accessibility.

中文翻译：

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贫困的代价：货币制裁对穷人的不平等影响的政策含义

在过去的几十年里，随着美国大规模监禁的兴起及其高昂的成本，联邦、州和地方各级政府大幅加大了金钱惩罚力度。货币制裁现在是美国最常见的刑事处罚类型。罚款、费用和其他法律财务义务 (LFO) 以及随之而来的法律债务的增长，反映了该系统的成本转移到了主要是低收入和贫困的主体上。本研究探索了以前未充分考虑的货币制裁对穷人造成明显负担的方式。对德克萨斯州和纽约州 121 名被告的采访以及法庭观察表明，刑事法律债务在三个有意义的方面对低收入人群尤其具有挑战性。第一的，为处理贫困索赔而设立的系统并没有充分解决那些根本没有支付能力的人的需求或复杂的个人情况。通常情况下，替代品是不可用的或被法定禁止的。其次，缺乏支付替代方案会导致妥协情况，从而迫使贫困被告在如何分配稀缺资源方面做出艰难选择。最后，被罚款和费用拖累，并参与社区服务等替代方案会带来繁重的时间要求，这对穷人来说可能是独一无二的挑战。这三项发现促使我们围绕三个关键主题提出一系列政策建议：(a) 加强贫困程序，(b) 公平的货币制裁，以及 (c) 通过改善可及性来减轻负担。