A significant number of my appointments in Durham County courts involved some form of additional punishment for having not been able to pay the monetary penalties from a prior event. Sometimes, like with the Driving with License Revoked charges, it was all about the money. The first substantial money punishment became additional administrative money charges, folded over more criminal and administrative fees, until it was practically impossible for someone without a driver’s license to find the job that would pay enough to get the driver’s license back.
This is not justice. This is funding walkaday government on the backs of the poor citizens trapped in a broken criminal justice system.
See http://www.wral.com/budget-language-targets-court-fee-waivers-for-poor-defendants/16781429/