Meeting Bulletin #4: March 2025

Fines, Fees, and Sentencing

The commission’s fourth meeting focused on the impact of fines, fees, and sentencing on justice-involved women, marking the end of deliberations on front-end criminal justice system issues. Commissioners discussed the efficacy of fines and fees, alternative sentencing strategies, and public safety priorities.

The meeting featured two research presentations.

Joanna Weiss, co-founder and co-executive director of the Fines and Fees Justice Center, provided an overview of the impact of fines and fees on justice-involved women.
CCJ Policy Director Stephanie Kennedy shared the preliminary findings of ongoing research on the public safety impact of women’s sentencing by Avinash Bhati and Aislinn Wallace.

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