Street Democracy pushed the state to fix court forms that never told defendants about their right to a payment alternative — and the courts adopted most of our recommendations.
Although the Michigan Supreme Court had amended its Court Rules in 2016 to require an ability-to-pay assessment before jailing someone for not paying fines and costs, none of the court-approved forms had been changed to advise defendants accordingly.
So we asked the Michigan Supreme Court to change its forms. They agreed with and implemented most of our recommendations.
Briefs, letters, guides, and other resources tied to this action.