Criminologist Beth Huebner part of research team tracking complex web of monetary sanctions in 9 states

UMSL Daily

UMSL criminologist Beth Huebner has joined a team of researchers from nine states investigating the often uneven way monetary sanctions are levied in the criminal justice system and the effect that can have on individuals. (Photo by August Jennewein)
The phrase “criminal justice system” may conjure images of courtrooms, juries and prison.
Less obvious is that when justice is doled out, it increasingly impacts the pocketbook.
Beth Huebner, a professor of criminology and criminal justice at the University of Missouri–St. Louis, is working with a team of researchers at nine universities across the country who are exploring the role that monetary sanctions play in the criminal justice system.
Her interest grew out of issues exposed in the wake of unrest in Ferguson, Missouri.
“The challenges highlighted so prominently in Ferguson can be found in many communities in Missouri and across the nation,” Huebner said.
Huebner, working with research assistant Kristina Garrity, has been studying the often uneven way monetary sanctions are levied in different jurisdictions. Preliminary findings suggest the impact on a person’s pocketbook depends largely on his or her location on a map.
Monetary sanctions can include fines, court fees, restitution, surcharges and even interest on unpaid sanctions. They can be imposed for offenses ranging from traffic violations and misdemeanors to felony convictions.
Though these types of financial punishments have a long history in the United States, state and local governments have been imposing monetary sanctions with increasing frequency over the past 30 years.
“There is an extreme amount of variation – both between states and within states – on how, when and where monetary sanctions are imposed by court officials,” said Alexes Harris, a professor of sociology at the University of Washington who has taken the lead on the collaborative efforts of the researchers. “It’s a mess, and there are few guidelines and no national framework governing the ...

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