Orleans Parish Juvenile Court abolishes discretionary fines

By Meghan Holmes
Contributing Writer

On July 19, chief judge of the Orleans Parish Juvenile Court system Candice Bates-Anderson signed a resolution declaring that the courts would no longer assess discretionary fines within the juvenile delinquency system.

The decision came after the Policy Advocacy Clinic at UC Berkeley’s School of Law presented research on the impact of juvenile fines and fees in Louisiana and other states to the court.

“These fines add hardship to already struggling families and we are so happy this policy is changing,” says Gina Womack, executive director of Families and Friends of Louisiana’s Incarcerated Children. The organization partnered with UC Berkeley’s advocacy clinic as well as the Louisiana Center for Children’s Rights in promoting the resolution.

“In Louisiana, like almost all other jurisdictions, people of color are disproportionately represented in the criminal justice system, even when controlling for alleged criminal behavior. So, they bear the burden of the impacts of fines and fees,” says Berkeley Law clinical teaching fellow Ahmed Lavalais. “We started this research in California around five years ago, because people were seeing juvenile court bills of $4,000 and $5,000. People were going bankrupt.”

In addition to the financial burden placed on families, the court’s resolution notes that fees often undermine the primary goals of the juvenile justice system – rehabilitation and public safety, citing data from Berkeley’s study as well as several others. The resolution stated that such fees, “disproportionately burden low income youth and families of color, already overrepresented in Louisiana juvenile justice system.” Black youth account for one-third of the youth in the state, but comprise three-fourths of the state’s youth in custody.

“In addition to being a burden on low-income people of color, we know that fines are linked to an increase in recidivism,” Lavalais says. “Empirical studies have shown that these sanctions lead to a greater likelihood of reoffense, ultimately undermining the goal of public safety. They also undermine the goal of family reunification. A charge of contempt of court is possible for nonpayment of a fine, meaning that a parent could go to jail if they can’t pay their child’s court fees.”

The state legislature has codified certain fixed court fees, which won’t be impacted by this resolution. This policy impacts discretionary fees, including probation supervision, public defenders, medical examinations and care and treatment. Most states, and Orleans Parish, have been assessing these fines for decades, despite their ability to effectively collect them.

Berkeley’s research shows that juvenile fines rarely provide states with much revenue, and are difficult and expensive to collect. In some Louisiana jurisdictions, collection costs exceed revenue. Between January 2015 and April 2017, the Louisiana Office of Juvenile Justice collected six percent of $2.1 million in fees assessed against youths and families. Most of the unpaid balance consists of fines charged to low-income people who cannot afford to pay.

“I would say more than 80 percent of the families we serve are working poor or low-income,” says Womack. “For them, an additional fine or fee means a choice about what they’ll give up. It could be a meal they don’t eat, or a bill that doesn’t get paid.”

Interviews with parents of children in the juvenile justice system conducted during Berkeley’s research show that this additional monetary burden strains relationships between parents and juvenile offenders, making family unification harder.

Ultimately, proponents of the resolution want to see the end of fines across Louisiana, and the rest of the region. Orleans Parish is the first jurisdiction in the South to end discretionary fines.

“We see this as a positive, proactive measure on the part of the courts,” Lavalais says. “We have judges, legislators, researchers and advocates all coming forward and saying they support these changes, and that they will benefit young people and benefit the economy. The court took all of that into account and decided to act.”

This article originally published in the August 13, 2018 print edition of The Louisiana Weekly newspaper.