Costs and Consequences of Traffic Fines and Fees: A Case Study of Open Warrants in Las Vegas, Nevada

Kamanga, Foster; Smercina, Virginia; Brents, Barbara G.; Okamura, Daniel; Fuentes, Vincent

doi:10.3390/socsci10110440

Open AccessArticle

Costs and Consequences of Traffic Fines and Fees: A Case Study of Open Warrants in Las Vegas, Nevada

by

Foster Kamanga

,

Virginia Smercina

,

Barbara G. Brents

^*

,

Daniel Okamura

and

Vincent Fuentes

Department of Sociology, University of Nevada, Las Vegas, NV 89154-5033, USA

^*

Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.

Soc. Sci. 2021, 10(11), 440; https://doi.org/10.3390/socsci10110440

Submission received: 1 September 2021 / Revised: 26 October 2021 / Accepted: 13 November 2021 / Published: 19 November 2021

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Research on the Implications of Financial Sanctions for Justice Policy)

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Abstract

Traffic stops and tickets often have far-reaching consequences for poor and marginalized communities, yet resulting fines and fees increasingly fund local court systems. This paper critically explores who bears the brunt of traffic fines and fees in Nevada, historically one of the fastest growing and increasingly diverse states in the nation, and one of thirteen US states to prosecute minor traffic violations as criminal misdemeanors rather than civil infractions. Drawing on legislative histories, we find that state legislators in Nevada increased fines and fees to raise revenues. Using descriptive statistics to analyze the 2012–2020 open arrest warrants extracted from the Las Vegas Municipal Court, we find that 58.6% of all open warrants are from failure to pay tickets owing to administrative-related offenses—vehicle registration and maintenance, no license or plates, or no insurance. Those issued warrants for failure to pay are disproportionately for people who are Black and from the poorest areas in the region. Ultimately, the Nevada system of monetary traffic sanctions criminalizes poverty and reinforces racial disparities.

Keywords: monetary sanctions; fines and fees; court fees; criminal justice policy; racialized criminal justice policy; racialized traffic fines and fees; open warrants; traffic violations; criminalizing poverty; traffic tickets; mass incarceration

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MDPI and ACS Style

Kamanga, F.; Smercina, V.; Brents, B.G.; Okamura, D.; Fuentes, V. Costs and Consequences of Traffic Fines and Fees: A Case Study of Open Warrants in Las Vegas, Nevada. Soc. Sci. 2021, 10, 440. https://doi.org/10.3390/socsci10110440

AMA Style

Kamanga F, Smercina V, Brents BG, Okamura D, Fuentes V. Costs and Consequences of Traffic Fines and Fees: A Case Study of Open Warrants in Las Vegas, Nevada. Social Sciences. 2021; 10(11):440. https://doi.org/10.3390/socsci10110440

Chicago/Turabian Style

Kamanga, Foster, Virginia Smercina, Barbara G. Brents, Daniel Okamura, and Vincent Fuentes. 2021. "Costs and Consequences of Traffic Fines and Fees: A Case Study of Open Warrants in Las Vegas, Nevada" Social Sciences 10, no. 11: 440. https://doi.org/10.3390/socsci10110440

APA Style

Kamanga, F., Smercina, V., Brents, B. G., Okamura, D., & Fuentes, V. (2021). Costs and Consequences of Traffic Fines and Fees: A Case Study of Open Warrants in Las Vegas, Nevada. Social Sciences, 10(11), 440. https://doi.org/10.3390/socsci10110440

Note that from the first issue of 2016, this journal uses article numbers instead of page numbers. See further details here.

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Costs and Consequences of Traffic Fines and Fees: A Case Study of Open Warrants in Las Vegas, Nevada

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