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Date: April 29, 2024 Mon
Time: 9:25 pm
Time: 9:25 pm
Results for day fines
1 results foundAuthor: Mahoney, Barry Title: The Ventura Day Fine Pilot Project: A Report on the Planning Process and the Decision to Terminate the Project, With Recommendations Concerning Future Development of Fines Policy Summary: A day-fine is a monetary sanction that can be used as a sentence in criminal cases. Initially developed in Europe, the day fine is based on a simple concept: that punishment by a fine should be proportionate to the seriousness of the offense and should have similar impact—in terms of economic "sting"—upon persons with differing financial resources. Thus, day fine amounts are typically set through a two-step process that determines the severity of the punishment separately from assessment of a specific dollar amount. First, the number of day-fine units for the offense for which the defendant has been convicted is determined, by reference to a scale that ranks offenses according to their gravity. Second, the amount of the fine is determined by multiplying the number of day fine units by a portion of the defendant's net daily income. By contrast, fines in most American courts are typically set on a "tariff" basis— i.e., imposition of a single fixed amount (or an amount that is within a narrow range), based solely on the perceived seriousness of the offense. Under a tariff fine system, there is little or no variance in fine amount to take into account an offender's income level or assets. The result, according to critics of the tariff system, is that fines are all too frequently set at amounts that are too high for poor defendants to pay yet too low to be a meaningful punishment or deterrent for affluent offenders. In 1991 the California Legislature enacted a statute authorizing In 1991 the California Legislature enacted a statute authorizing the California Judicial Council to establish a pilot program in one county, to test the feasibility of using day fines as a sanction for misdemeanor offenses. In enacting this law, the Legislature [F]ine punishment should be proportionate to the severity of the offense but equally impact individuals with differing financial resources . . . . [T]he implementation of a pilot program in California which is designed to use a [day-fine system similar to those used in Sweden, West Germany, and, experimentally, in Staten Island, NY and Phoenix, AZ)] would serve as a test for a fairer method in California of dispensing criminal justice and as a program which could possibly help alleviate the presently overcrowded conditions of our county jails. For more than a year following enactment of the authorizing legislation, no court could be found that was willing to undertake the project. Then, in the spring of 1993, state-level judicial leaders asked the judges of the Ventura Municipal Court to consider becoming the pilot court. The judges agreed, contingent upon approval by the County's Board of Supervisors. On April 27, 1993 the Board of Supervisors voted to approve the project with one important proviso—assurance by the state that participation in the project would not result in a loss of revenue to the county. Initial planning of the project began in June 1993, and involved a broad range of policymakers and practitioners involved in the administration of criminal justice in Ventura County. By mid-1994, basic plans for implementation of the project had been developed and the California legislature had amended the authorizing legislation to address a number of issues identified during the first year of the planning process. A target date of January 19, 1995, was set for initial implementation of the project. During the fall of 1994, however, detailed planning for implementation came to a sudden halt and funding earmarked for assistance in implementation was placed on hold. Early in 1995, the pilot project was officially terminated. This report has three main purposes: (1) to describe the sixteen month Phase I planning process (June 1, 1993-September 30, 1994); (2) to examine the reasons why the project was terminated; and (3) to assess what has been learned from this experience and develop recommendations concerning future development of policy with respect to the use of fines as criminal sanctions. declared that: Details: Denver, CO: The Justice Management Institute, 1995. 79p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed July 25, 2012 at: http://www.jmijustice.org/publications/ventura-day-fine-project-final-report-may-1995 Year: 1995 Country: United States URL: http://www.jmijustice.org/publications/ventura-day-fine-project-final-report-may-1995 Shelf Number: 125780 Keywords: CourtsDay FinesFines (California)Punishment |