Criminalizing Poverty: The Grim Realities of Fines and Fees

Beginning in the early 2000's, the Oklahoma State Legislature began to cut funding for court operations but allowed the imposition of fees to cover the lost revenue. Fines and fees has therefore been a concern for criminal justice reform advocates and for court actors who faced shrinking state budgets. Due to this, a study was done in Oklahoma County by Harvard, Berkeley, and Columbia from 2017-2019. Listen along as we breakdown Oklahoma's over-reliance on fines and fees and the consequences to our communities, economy, and more.