After a police officer killed Michael Brown in Ferguson, Missouri in 2014, a Department of Justice investigation revealed that the police department there had engaged in racially discriminatory, aggressive policing practices driven in part by its reliance on fines and fees for revenue. Research since then has revealed that the problem goes far beyond Ferguson. Across the country and New York State, the pursuit and collection of fines and fees by law enforcement and the judiciary is often racially biased, imposed disproportionately on the poorest and most vulnerable communities, destructive for families, grossly inefficient as a solution to budget needs, and a powerful source of injustice. Lauren Jones, Legal & Policy Director of the National Center for Access to Justice, will lead this important public conversation about the harsh consequences of fines and fees, the campaign for change in New York State (including the End Predatory Court Fees Act), and the organized efforts that are  dedicated to reversing these destructive policies in New York and across the nation.

Moderator 

Lauren Jones, Legal and Policy Director, National Center for Access to Justice

Panelists

Zach Ahmad, Senior Policy Counsel, New York Civil Liberties Union

Antonya Jeffrey, New York State Director, Fines and Fees Justice Center

Andre Ward, Associate Vice President of the David Rothenberg Center for Public Policy, The Fortune Society

Claudia Wilner, Director of Litigation and Advocacy, National Center for Law and Economic Justice