There are 32 article(s) tagged Josh Spickler:

• March 2019

  • Memphis advocates back Lee’s plan to drop expungement fee

    Gov. Bill Lee calls for eliminating the $180 state expungement fee to make it easier for people to wipe their records clean, advocates say. The move drew wide praise from those in Memphis.

    By Sam Stockard March 01, 2019

• February 2019

  • Just City program trains volunteers to be eyes and ears in court

    Just City's Court Watch wants to have 100 volunteers trained by the end of year to observe court proceedings, from arraignments to trials, at 201 Poplar. 

    By Yolanda Jones February 12, 2019

• January 2019

  • Parkinson pushes expedited expungement fee

    Offenders eligible for expungement could pay a $250 fee to speed up the process of clearing their criminal record.

    By Sam Stockard January 24, 2019

• December 2018

  • Detention center funding decision taps larger criminal justice system concerns

    County commissioner Tami Sawyer and activist Josh Spickler discuss flaws in the juvenile justice system and the roles a new assessment center and new juvenile detention center might play in reforming the system. 

    By Bill Dries December 28, 2018

• November 2018

  • Shelby County eliminates phone call costs for juvenile detainees

    Shelby County has reached an agreement with its inmate telephone services vendor, Global Tel, to eliminate charges on all phone calls made by juveniles to their parents or guardians and vice-versa, Mayor Lee Harris announced Monday.

    By Omer Yusuf November 20, 2018

• October 2018

  • Court orders state to stop suspending licenses of people too poor to pay debt

    Tens of thousands of Tennesseans whose licenses were suspended because they were too poor to pay court debt won a major victory this week when a judge ruled in their favor against the state.

    By Sam Stockard October 18, 2018

• September 2018

  • Cost of traffic fines, fees limiting opportunities for thousands of Memphians

    About 18,000 times each year, the state of Tennessee suspends the driver’s license of a Shelby County resident for failure to pay traffic fines and fees, according to data obtained by the nonprofit advocacy organization Just City. A disproportionate number of those drivers are black, making the fines a social justice issue, said Just City executive director Josh Spickler.

    By Yolanda Jones September 17, 2018