Presentation
Written Testimony for briefing on Targeted Fines and Fees against Low-Income Minorities: Civil Rights and Constitutional Implications
United States Commission on Civil Rights
(2017)
Abstract
My testimony today will focus on issues discussed in Fighting Fines & Fees: Borrowing from Consumer Law to Combat Criminal Justice Debt Abuses, forthcoming in the Colorado Law Review. In that article, I examine whether the framework used to address debt-collection abuses in the consumer context should apply to the abusive collection and assessment of criminal justice debt. I argue that the rationale that led to the enactment of the federal FDCPA and the creation of CFPB to combat consumer collection abuses parallels the reasons that a federal statute should be adopted to help the DOJ coordinate the attack against abuses in the collection of criminal justice debt. Alternatively, if a federal statute is not adopted, the DOJ should adopt guidelines and coordinate enforcement and outreach activities with state and local authorities to address abusive criminal justice debt collection. A separate division within the DOJ could be created to coordinate and assess the efforts at reducing these abuses. Moreover, by advocating a federal approach, my intention is not to restrict state enforcement, but instead, to provide a floor for enforcement and hopefully encourage additional state and local participation. Following the adoption of the FDCPA, many states not only developed similar legislation but some also adopted greater protections for their residents.
In my testimony, I will compare similarities in the growth and consequences of abuses of criminal justice debt and consumer debt, describe the federal approach used to attack consumer debt collection abuses, and recommend measures to help combat abusive criminal justice debt collection based on the framework used in the consumer context.
Keywords
- criminal justice debt,
- bail,
- fines,
- fees,
- criminal law,
- poverty law,
- social justice,
- consumer law,
- FDCPA,
- CFPB,
- DOJ,
- debtors'prisons,
- discrimination,
- Ferguson,
- poverty penalties,
- equal protection,
- probation,
- consumer debt
Disciplines
Publication Date
March 10, 2017
Location
Washington, D.C.
Citation Information
Neil L Sobol. "Written Testimony for briefing on Targeted Fines and Fees against Low-Income Minorities: Civil Rights and Constitutional Implications" United States Commission on Civil Rights (2017) Available at: http://works.bepress.com/neil_sobol/37/