News & Commentary

Fees in the justice system trap far too many people in a vicious cycle of debt and punishment. A burgeoning movement in states across the country is tackling this problem head-on.

While the decision in Vega v. Tekoh doesn’t reduce the obligation of police to issue Miranda warnings, it eliminates a critical avenue for justice.

Clifton White spent years in and out of prisons, eventually becoming a “jailhouse lawyer,” husband, father and finally community leader, whose activism would once again land him behind bars.

Legislators fail to engage evidence-based solutions that would make the state safer for everyone.

We must not return to the failed, punitive policies that do not improve public safety or save lives.

Four out of five criminal defendants can’t afford a lawyer, but in many places, the system promised to them by our state and federal constitutions is chronically in crisis.

Among the slew of public safety bills New Mexico legislators are debating this session are HB 5 and SB 189, which would impose new pretrial release conditions and roll back voter-approved bail reforms in the state.

The Fines, Fees and Cost Payment Flexibility Bill (HB81), seeks to change how court fees are assessed and repaid so people working to rebuild their lives aren’t burdened with crushing debt or re-incarcerated simply because they can’t immediately afford their fees. Those fees, which are often used to fund government agencies, do nothing to improve public safety and often fall hardest on overpoliced Black and Brown communities already struggling with systemic racism and fewer job opportunities, resulting in lower incomes.

ACLU of New Mexico Staff Attorney Denali Wilson talks about the need for the Second Chance Bill in New Mexico.