LegalAidResearch.org

Stopped, Fined, Arrested: Racial Bias in Policing & Traffic Courts in California

Theresa Zhen, Brittany Stonestifer, Alex Kaplan, Dana Isaac, Michael Herald, Kristina Harootun, Antionette Dozier, Meredith Desautels, Mari Castaldi, Elisa Della-Piana, Stephen Bingham
East Bay Community Law Center, Back on the Road California
April 1, 2016
This report describes the role that racial bias plays in the practices of police and traffic courts in California. Using records collected from the Dept. of Motor Vehicles, U.S. Census, and a host of police departments, the authors offer evidence that a disproportionate number of license suspensions and arrests related to unpaid fines and fees exacerbate poverty among low-income populations. The discussion also includes true accounts of such experiences as well as recommendations for alleviating issues related to the criminal justice system's handling of traffic infractions.

Five Evils: Multidimensional Race and Poverty in America

Richard V. Reeves, Elizabeth Kneebone, Edward Rodrigue
The Brookings Institution
April 14, 2016
The Brookings Institution presents a report outlining a multifaceted view of poverty in the United States. Researchers expand traditional definitions by highlighting the impacts of household income, education, poverty related to area of residence, health insurance, and employment, with focus on racial inequity. Trends in census data as well as implications for policy change are discussed.

“In the long run, legal aid programs’ investment in randomized study will not only improve services and help direct scarce resources, but will also build public support.

The willingness of the legal aid movement to question itself and change in response will demonstrate to the wider world that our work is, in the end, focused on doing the best we can to help very poor people, in often-desperate circumstances, to improve their lives.”

--Steven Eppler-Epstein, Executive Director of Connecticut Legal Services
Harvard Law Review, 2013

Research & Evidence for Civil Legal Aid

Search Below, Browse Links Above, or Click on Search & Filter Above

Welcome

Elsewhere on the Web

Scientific Polling: How to Talk About Legal Aid

Featured

Stopped, Fined, Arrested: Racial Bias in Policing & Traffic Courts in California

The Value of Research

About

Get Involved

Subjects

Browse

Audiences/Tracks

Contact