Panel discusses burden of fees and fines in Alabama’s justice system

MONTGOMERY, Ala. (WSFA) – Going to court can be a stressful experience and comes with financial costs, both known and unexpected.

To address those fees and fines, a virtual panel was held by the nonprofit group Alabama Values and Montgomery’s Beacon Center, a home to several nonprofits.

On the panel were Montgomery County District Judge Tiffany McCord, Montgomery County Chief Public Defender Aylia McKee and Beacon Center Executive Director Richard Williams.

They touched on how fees and fines in the justice system can create a cycle of poverty and how that system could be more equitable.

McCord says defendants may not know they can ask for community service instead of fines or even for some fines to be canceled.

McKee explained that one barrier to accurately assess fines is that people don’t always accurately describe their situation due to the embarrassment of admitting to financial struggles in front of the court.

Williams says if the defendant is using drugs, that creates another barrier.

“Simultaneously some people are walking through addiction, and so the question is when some’s walking through addiction, should we tell the person that they should go to a job or go to drug treatment. Should they go detox or should they raise this money to pay a fee or fine,” Williams said. “I would dare to say that the individual should spend time doing drug treatment, they should spend time acknowledging what harms have been done, they should spend time working through so that they could be a better human.”

The Beacon Center offers a free resource called the Next Step Program, which is six months long and is designed for those heading to court that need help managing their struggles.

The program is only offered in Montgomery County.

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