KINGSTON, R.I. – Dec. 3, 2025 – Every person suspected of a crime has a right to an attorney, yet the cost for that attorney—even a public defender—can differ from state to state. 

For individuals at or below the poverty level, costs can add up fast, regardless of whether they are found guilty or serve jail time. With the federal poverty level being less than $32,150 for a family of four, one hefty fine can mean the difference between paying utility or food bills or not.

So, when does paying one’s debt to society become too much of a financial burden to handle? And, are some states and municipalities charging people for legal services that they are constitutionally entitled to?

University of Rhode Island Criminology and Criminal Justice Assistant Professor Brittany T. Martin is pursuing answers to those questions, and recently presented her research at  a Results for America workshop in Houston. The event, titled “Assessing Ability to Pay: How Courts Can Ensure Fair and Effective Fines and Fees Practices,” in partnership with the Fines and Fees Justice Center, was designed for court stakeholders and advocates interested in implementing ability-to-pay assessments, payment plans, community service or other alternatives to fines and fees.

Martin met with representatives from municipalities across the country seeking guidance on implementing an ability-to-pay process for their jurisdictions. She says the municipal workers attended the workshop looking to develop systems to better support those who are involved in the criminal court system so they avoid drowning in legal debt.

In some instances, public defenders are provided to represent people in court who cannot afford attorneys—a Miranda right. However, Martin learned that many states such as Virginia charge people fees to have public defenders, with some costs going well into the thousands of dollars. In Martin’s research, only seven U.S. states do not charge fees for public defenders—Rhode Island being one of them. 

“For poor people that are supposed to have a constitutional right to have an attorney, states are charging them high amounts of money,” Martin said. “We assume that everyone’s entitled to an attorney in the United States. But that is not the case. So, how does assessing ability to pay come into that?”

Martin recently co-authored a study published by Sage Journals about inequities in criminalizing traffic offenses in Georgia. The report, titled “The Road to Debtors’ Probation: How Criminalizing Traffic Violations Increases State Control and Inequality in Georgia,” concluded that Georgia’s system of criminalizing traffic offenses and managing payment through probation entrenches inequality and perpetuates cycles of debt. The report also offered recommendations for reform, including the state ending its current pay-only probation system and decriminalizing minor traffic offenses.

In her research, Martin has heard from people struggling to gain meaningful employment post-incarceration due to their criminal records, compounding the weight of their financial debts. It’s also costly for those who don’t get put behind bars, she says.

“Many people I spoke with in my research didn’t actually end up in prison—they were on probation. So, with being under community supervision for such a long period of time, you owe additional money,” Martin said. “It’s a multiplicative impact of all these different forms of punishment that people are experiencing and the weight of it is pretty tremendous. We want people to reintegrate, but how do you do that when you owe so much money and also need to pay your bills?”

In Houston, Martin also shared her current research. She along with five URI undergraduate students are currently collecting data to review discrepancies between the four Rhode Island state county courts—Providence, Newport, Kent and Washington—in waiving costs for indigent individuals. The project is supported by a Russell Sage Foundation grant Martin received in August. 

Martin hopes to continue to meet with municipalities on possible research opportunities to reform legal fee policies. She also plans to apply for additional grant funding to further this work.