We are a part of the Initiative for Law, Societies, and Justice here at UT, and we are organizing two days of data-involved research on the legal system. We need your help with creating the Comprehensive Fines and Fees database. It is a database that tracks all of the legal statutes that govern fines and fees and other monetary sanctions across all 50 states. If you are interested in research, data and computer science, sociology, or website design, we would love for you to work with us. There is NO experience required, but being proficient in Excel would help. We will teach you how to do all of the work! Just come eager to learn and collect data.

Our project is led by Dr. Tauheeda Yasin. She is an interdisciplinary scholar whose research is at the intersection of social inequality, policy, and justice. Dr. Yasin’s research interests lie in interdisciplinary approaches to understanding social phenomena and making data accessible for analysis. 

The Comprehensive Fines and Fees Database bridges a gap in our understanding of how monetary sanctions operate at the state level over time. Compiling the database will allow researchers, policymakers, and other stakeholders to bridge the gap between data and action to create a more transparent, equitable, and fair society.

Shortly after the unjustifiable killing of Michael Brown in Ferguson in 2014, the Department of Justice found in an investigation that the City was using fines, fees, and other monetary sanctions to fund sizable government functions. Police officers worked with court administrators to try and issue lots of tickets in order to fund operations. The city collected over $2.6 million in such fines and fees, the second highest source of revenue for the city, creating an atmosphere of animosity between residents and public safety. We know the practice is not confined to Ferguson and remains an issue in many jurisdictions throughout the country. Creating this dataset will allow for a better understanding of the infrastructure around justice funding.(NPR https://www.npr.org/transcripts/343143937)

Fines are punitive monetary penalties imposed by courts or law enforcement agencies for violating a specific law or regulation. Fines are typically intended to punish the offender for their actions. Fees, contrarily, are charges levied by government entities to cover the costs of specific services or administrative processes. Unlike fines, these costs are not imposed as a punishment for an offense but rather to cover the expenses related to a particular service or activity. Both, however, strip citizens of material goods, eventually leading to even more monetary sanctions or potentially jail time. Creating a database will create a wealth of information when researchers.

The datathon will be held on the Saturday and Sunday of October 21st and 22nd. On Saturday, the work hours will be from 10:00 am to 8:00 pm. On Sunday, the work hours will be from 10:00 am to 5:00 pm. And do not worry, food will be included!

If you show up and do the research we teach during the training on October 21st and 22nd, you will earn $150 as well as data collection and data cleaning skills (something you can add to your resume)! More specific details will be discussed during the event.

Here is more information on how fines and fees hurt Americans and create a systemic inequalities that affect millions of people every year.

Ferguson Ticketing and Impact on Population:

https://www.cnn.com/2015/03/06/us/ferguson-missouri-racism-tickets-fines/index.html

Ferguson Report, Department of Justice:

https://www.justice.gov/sites/default/files/opa/press-releases/attachments/2015/03/04/ferguson_police_department_report.pdf

Pagedale, Missouri - The Case of the Mismatched Blinds

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S8P-l8_dTsI

Pagedale, Missouri: Institute for Justice

Federal Court Approves Historic Consent Decree Ending “Policing for Profit” in Pagedale, Mo.

J. Justin Wilson · May 21, 2018. https://ij.org/press-release/federal-court-approves-historic-consent-decree-ending-policing-for-profit-in-pagedale-mo/

Human Rights Watch - Privatized Probation

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=015mdURr2Dw