Stop Criminalizing Poverty

Act Now

Many of the wealthiest New Yorkers pay very little in taxes. Meanwhile, our state puts the onus of funding the legal system and other government services on the backs of our poorest residents.

Across the state, courts rely on revenue from mandatory fees and fines imposed on criminal defendants and those with traffic violations. Courts charge up to $300 for every conviction, even for minor offenses. There’s no way to have these mandatory court fees excused, so those who can’t afford to pay them are forced to carry hundreds or even thousands of dollars in debt for life.

TAKE ACTION: Tell state lawmakers to stop this injustice by passing the End Predatory Court Fees Act.

Message Recipients:
Governor Kathy Hochul
Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie
Senate Majority Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins
Your representatives

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Many of the wealthiest New Yorkers pay very little in taxes. Meanwhile, our state puts the onus of funding the legal system and other government services on the backs of our poorest residents.

Across the state, courts rely on revenue from mandatory fees and fines imposed on criminal defendants and those with traffic violations. Courts charge up to $300 for every conviction, even for minor offenses. There’s no way to have these mandatory court fees excused, so those who can’t afford to pay them are forced to carry hundreds or even thousands of dollars in debt for life.

I’m writing to tell you to stop this injustice by passing the End Predatory Court Fees Act.

There’s no way to have these mandatory court fees excused, so those who can’t afford to pay them are forced to carry the debts for life.

For poor people – who are more likely to face bias and convictions – the weight of these predatory fees and fines can make it impossible to move on with their lives. People can even be jailed for failing to pay.

People who are incarcerated will automatically have the meager wages they earn in prison garnished to pay court-imposed debts.

This dynamic, in which people’s fines and fees pay for the costs of running the legal system, ensures that poor people pay to be prosecuted. And we know that, in our racially biased legal system, Black New Yorkers and other people of color are hit hardest by punishments, including fines and fees.

The End Predatory Court Fees Act would eliminate mandatory court fees and mandatory minimum fines. It would also require judges to account for a person’s economic circumstances when issuing a fine. Finally, the bill would end the garnishment of commissary funds to pay court-imposed debts and end the unjust practice of jailing people for failure to pay.

We shouldn’t put the burden of funding the criminal legal system on those unjustly caught up in it.

We need the End Predatory Court Fees Act now.

Sincerely,

[First Name] [Last Name]

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