Who Pays? Measuring Differences in the Process of Repayment of Legal Financial Obligations

Abstract

This study identifies the correlates of legal financial obligation (LFO) debt repayment among persons sentenced to probation and transferred to a specialized collections unit. Using bivariate tests and logistic regression, results indicate that starting balance amounts, monthly payment amounts, and enforcement actions (capias warrant) are the strongest influences on the likelihood of full debt repayment. These results indicate that some persons will struggle to repay their LFO balances if amounts assessed are in excess of their means, even in an institutional context adopting an individualized, flexible, and non-punitive approach to collections. Policy implications suggest a need for reform at the point of LFO assessment to avoid imposing obligations that are unreasonable to individuals’ ability to repay.

Reframing the debate on legal financial obligations and crime: How accruing monetary sanctions impacts recidivism

“…Second, the amounts of monetary sanctions people were ordered to pay were sizable, with the median debts totaling an estimated $1,200 at the instant offense and $4,000 throughout an average criminal career. The result aligns with emerging scholarship that seeks to quantify the overall burden of LFOs on people (e.g., Powell, 2021; Ruhland et al., 2020; Ward & Link, 2022) as a foundation for understanding how these obligations pragmatically impact the reentry process. This finding also comports with recent work highlighting the expanded role that revenue generation now plays in justice processes (Fernandes et al., 2019; Martin, 2018, 2023).…”

“…Although it may be challenging, future researchers should endeavor to connect LFOs across systems to account for debts arising from these other sources. Second, very few studies have been able to capture the repayment patterns of LFO debt, and the current study is no exception (but see, Powell, 2021). The ability to repay debt both during incarceration and reentry is critical for future study as it affects the total load-and therefore the potential strain and collateral consequences-experienced during the fraught reentry period.…”

“…Ward et al (2020) showed that, among defendants represented by a public defender in Pennsylvania, the majority owed debts related to fines, fees, and restitution a decade after their cases were disposed of. Black individuals seemed to struggle with repayment over time, a finding seen in other recent studies (Link, 2019;Link et al, 2020;Powell, 2021). Given the research demonstrating that Latino individuals may begin with higher balances (Harris et al, 2011) and that Black people may be assessed lower initial balances (Harris et al, 2010;Ostermann, 2023;Ward et al, 2022), however, the intersection of race, LFOs, and their potential impacts on recidivism remains unclear.…”

“…On the other hand, older individuals who have been in contact with the system many times throughout their life course may have accumulated very large and unmanageable burdens, exacerbating the adverse impact on reentry. Although some studies have shown that increased age is associated with smaller debt burdens (Link, 2019) and a higher likelihood that individuals would be able to repay in full (Powell, 2021) and others have shown that older individuals have greater debts (Ostermann, 2023), research has yet to examine whether age moderates the relationship between LFOs and recidivism. Even fewer descriptive findings are available on sex differences in LFOs, and the findings are mixed.…”

“…In some jurisdictions, ongoing LFO debt can result in the loss of voting rights (Colgan, 2019), which may delay desistance (Uggen & Manza, 2004). Finally, falling further behind on criminal justice payments can lead directly to increased contact with the system—such as extended supervision terms or increases in the intensity of supervision (Nagrecha et al., 2015; Powell, 2021). Longer and more intensive supervision, in turn, increases the likelihood that technical violations will occur and be detected (Hyatt & Barnes, 2017).…”