The RELIEF Study: Court Fees as a Determinant of Health and Criminal-legal Outcomes

Study Information

This study aims to understand how financial pressures related to criminal justice involvement contribute to issues like food and housing insecurity, repeat offenses, and overdose deaths. The study addresses the effects of a new law in New Mexico (House Bill 139) that eliminated court fees starting in 2024. By treating this policy change as a natural experiment, researchers compare outcomes like drug court participation and overdose rates in New Mexico to states, which mimics what might happen without the policy change. They also track outcomes among individuals in the legal system before and after the policy change to compare outcomes among those with vs without policy exposure (court fee relief) over time.

1R01DA064493

Study Team

PI: Saba Rouhani, Diana Silver, Zoe Lindenfeld

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Study Aims

  • Estimate the causal impact of HB-139 on overdose fatalities and other substance-use outcomes
  • Examine effects of HB-139 on recidivism, drug court enrollment and completion, and total legal financial debt
  • Assess the HB-139 implementation process

Research Type

Implementation, Natural Experiment