From History to Harm: Fines and Fees in Virginia — and Who Pays the Price

A just society is one where laws are applied fairly and public systems help people and communities thrive. In Virginia, that vision is threatened by a legal system shaped by choices that punish Black communities more harshly than others. The state did not stumble into this system; it built it, policy by policy, across generations. Looking honestly at how this system took shape — and how those choices affect people today — is essential to creating a more fair, more just path forward.

When slavery ended, lawmakers did not fully dismantle systems of control over Black people; they replaced them. Forced labor returned through convict leasing and road camps. The political power of Black communities was stripped through poll taxes and laws that barred people with criminal convictions from voting. At the same time, instead of treating the criminal legal system and other public services as a public good we all support, Virginia legislators shifted costs onto people accused of crimes — many of whom have the least ability to pay and are most harmed by the system. These were not isolated or unintentional decisions. It was a pattern of choices, often made in response to progress, to protect power and limit who could fully participate in society. 

Virginia’s current fines and fees system reflects this long history of using the legal system to punish and extract wealth. Today, fines for low-level offenses, court costs and fees, and long-term court debt continue to shape people’s lives. Because police are more likely to stop, search, and arrest Black drivers, Black people are also more likely to face court fines, fees, and lasting debt. As a result, the costs of the court system fall most heavily on people with the least ability to pay and at particularly high rates on Black communities.

The Commonwealth Institute’s report, “Honest History: How Fines and Fees Came to Harm Black Communities in Virginia,” documents these patterns in significant detail. Several key findings from that report help connect this history to the real-world impacts people experience today and underscore the need for fairer, more sustainable revenue options.

How Virginia Built a Two-Tier Legal System

Beginning in the 1600s, Virginia law deliberately restricted the rights, movement, and agency of Black people. Enslavement was written into law, and violence against Black people was often shielded from any punishment. Separate criminal courts were created for enslaved people, and fundamental rights — like the ability to testify, move freely, or defend oneself — were denied.

After emancipation, many Black and white Virginians worked to expand access to public education, reform Virginia’s criminal code, and move the state toward fairer ways of raising revenue. At the same time, white elites worked to hold onto power and rebuild racial control under new laws and policies. Unfortunately, those harmful efforts eventually prevailed. Convict leasing forced incarcerated people, overwhelmingly Black, into dangerous, unpaid work for private companies, later evolving into road camps where prison labor built public infrastructure. The 1902 Constitution reinstated the poll tax, imposed literacy tests, and expanded laws that took away voting rights (criminal disenfranchisement), even for minor offenses. These policies stripped Black Virginians of political power and economic stability for decades.

From Policing to Prison to Court Debt

Beginning in the 1980s, in the decades following major civil rights victories and public investments aimed at expanding opportunity, Virginia made a series of policy choices that dramatically expanded policing, incarceration, and punishment across the state. Lawmakers passed laws that focused on being “tough on crime,” required harsher sentences, and encouraged police to stop and arrest people for small offenses. During the same period, Virginia ended parole and lengthened sentences, meaning people spent more time under supervision and owed more money to the legal system. 

The impact on Black Virginians was severe. By 1987, 86% of lower-court cases nationwide included a fine, turning small charges into long-term financial penalties. By 1990, Virginia incarcerated Black people at more than four times the rate of white people. By 2007, that gap had grown to nearly seven times. As more people were pulled into the court system and incarcerated, courts relied more heavily on fines and fees to fund basic operations. These choices created cycles of debt, poverty, and long-term harm, especially in Black and low-income communities.

What Fines and Fees Look Like in Virginia Today

Today, Virginia’s fines and fees system continues to place the heaviest burdens on Black and low-income Virginians. Law enforcement stops, searches, and arrests Black drivers at higher rates than white drivers. In 2023, Black Virginians accounted for nearly 30% of all traffic stops despite representing just 19% of the driving-age population. These differences don’t end at the roadside: more police interactions lead to more court cases, which lead to more court fines and fees. 

Once imposed, court debt can follow a person for much of their life. Virginia allows the collection of court debt for 30 years in the General District Court and 60 years in Circuit Court. Interest and penalties increase the balance over time. If someone is working but not in a payment plan, up to 25% of each paycheck can be taken to pay court debt. Missing a payment can lead to more penalties or longer court supervision. If debt is sent to collections, extra fees are added, making it even harder to pay off. For some, a single charge becomes years, sometimes decades, of financial stress and instability.

Paying To Participate: Court Debt and the Right to Vote

Fines and fees also shape who can fully take part in democracy. In Virginia, people with felony convictions do not automatically regain the right to vote. Instead, voting rights must be restored by the governor. Whether someone still has court debt, is on probation, or is keeping up with payments can influence the governor’s decision.

As of 2024, 4% of Virginia’s voting-age population is unable to vote due to a felony conviction. Black Virginians make up about one-fifth of the state’s population, but nearly half of those barred from voting. In practice, court debt plays a similar role to the poll taxes of the past, tying access to full citizenship to a person’s ability to pay.

Recent Progress — and What Still Needs to Change

In recent years, Virginia has taken important steps to reduce some of the harm caused by court fines and fees. The state has ended the suspension of driver’s licenses for unpaid court debt, made payment plans easier to access, and improved transparency through itemized receipts of what people owe. These reforms help reduce confusion, restore mobility, and ease financial pressure for thousands of Virginians. And just this year, the House and Senate passed a constitutional amendment that would automatically restore voting rights for people with felony conviction that have finished their term of incarceration. Governor Spanberger has signed this bill, and voters will have the chance to vote on this constitutional amendment in November. 

Even with these improvements, fines and fees still raise revenue in an unfair way. A justice system that serves everyone should be supported by all of us, not paid for through punishment or debt. Instead, fines and fees take a larger share of income from people with the least, making it harder for families to stay financially stable. This approach also fails to provide steady, fair funding for the courts and deepens harm within the system. Virginia has other options. The state has the capacity to fund the criminal legal system in ways that are more fair and do not depend on punishment or on the financial hardship of the people most impacted by the system.

Virginia’s reliance on fines and fees is not an accident. It reflects a long history of using law and punishment to take wealth, restrict opportunity, and limit the political power of Black Virginians. The harm is well documented, and the path forward is clear. The cost of doing nothing continues to fall on the same communities, generation after generation. Ending harmful fines and fees practices and replacing them with fairer, more reliable revenue sources is not only sound fiscal policy, but it is a necessary step toward confronting Virginia’s history and building a justice system that no longer depends on criminalizing poverty.

Category:
Decriminalizing Poverty