284 | How Alabama's Fines and Fees Fail Criminal Defendants, Victims, and the Entire State w/Leah Nelson and Judge Stephen Wallace

Today, Hunter is joined once again by Leah Nelson, and this time, she is joined by Judge Stepehen Wallace. On today's episode, Leah and Judge Wallace are her to unveil their years long research into the fines and fees that the Jefferson County, Alabama Courts are extracting from criminal defendants. As will surprise no one who listens to the show, the fines and fees program fails the accused, fails victims, fails to fund the legal system, and thus, fails the entire state of Alabama.   Guests: Leah Nelson, Co-Founder, Jefferson County Equitable Fines and Fees Project, Alabama Stepehen Wallace, Circuit Judge, Jefferson County, Birmingham, Alabama   Resources: Coverage of Aug. 2024 Releases https://aldailynews.com/court-fee-system-inefficient-discriminatory-research-finds/ https://aldailynews.com/column-crime-and-garnishment/ https://aldailynews.com/capitol-journal-september-13-2024/   Oct. 2024 paper with IBM https://krvarshney.github.io/pubs/LaraYejasJMNSTNBV_aies2024.pdf   Aug. 2024 with MDRC https://www.mdrc.org/sites/default/files/JeffCoFines%26Fees_Brief_FInal.pdf   Background reading on-- Brookside (the Ferguson of Alabama): https://www.al.com/bankingoncrime/ Alabama tax policy and how the Alabama constitution encourages reliance on fines and fees: https://www.nytimes.com/2022/07/27/opinion/alabama-fines-fees.html     Contact Hunter Parnell:                                 [email protected]  Instagram @PublicDefenselessPodcast Twitter                                                                 @PDefenselessPod www.publicdefenseless.com  Subscribe to the Patron www.patreon.com/PublicDefenselessPodcast  Donate on PayPal https://www.paypal.com/donate/?hosted_button_id=5KW7WMJWEXTAJ Donate on Stripe https://donate.stripe.com/7sI01tb2v3dwaM8cMN Trying to find a specific part of an episode? Use this link to search transcripts of every episode of the show! https://app.reduct.video/o/eca54fbf9f/p/d543070e6a/share/c34e85194394723d4131/home