Cohort 2025
decARcerate
Ensuring Effective Implementation of Arkansas’s Fine Collection Law
Pulaski County, AR
Court fines and fees are one of the ways the criminal legal system disproportionately affects people with limited financial means. Despite the lack of evidence supporting the effectiveness of court fees for public safety outcomes, they have been used in ways that more deeply envelop people in the system. States including Arkansas have taken measures to appropriately consider people’s economic status when imposing court fees. But despite these measures, research (PDF) conducted by decARcerate and the Clinton School of Public Service at the University of Arkansas shows that options for relief from court fees are disproportionately offered to white defendants over their Black counterparts. To promote transparency and accountability in court proceedings in Pulaski County, decARcerate coordinates a court watch program, Court Watch AR.
With Catalyst grant funding, decARcerate will examine the extent to which judges in Pulaski County consistently follow the state law requiring judges to assess a defendant’s ability to pay before assigning monetary penalties. They will use Microsoft technology to streamline and automate data collection and analysis from Court Watch AR court-observation forms, reducing the time required to enter data and allowing volunteers to dedicate more time to being in the courtroom. This increase in its data and technology capacity will allow decARcerate to increase the number and types of court proceedings observed through Court Watch AR, focus on engaging community members and court employees, and educate the public through an accessible online dashboard and reports, including data on racial disparities in fines and fees.
