access to justice

As government budgets shrink and court systems face cuts, "a yearlong NPR investigation found that the costs of the criminal justice system in the United States are paid increasingly by the defendants and offenders. It's a practice that causes the poor to face harsher treatment than others who commit identical crimes and can afford to pay. Some judges and politicians fear the trend has gone too far," NPR reports.

This certainly is an issue in Pennsylvania where I worked as a legal affairs reporter for six years. NPR found that: "In 2011, in Philadelphia alone, courts sent bills on unpaid debts dating back to the 1970s to more than 320,000 people — roughly 1 in 5 city residents. The median debt was around $4,500. And in New York City, there are 1.2 million outstanding warrants, many for unpaid court fines and fees."

One of the most startling findings is that Washington charges a greater fee for defendants who exercise their constitutional right for a jury. The fee is $250 for a 12-person jury and $125 for a six-person jury.