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	Podcast:		Other News
	Episode:		Lifting away the burden of legal debts helps make it possible for people to build new lives
	Category:		Government & Organizations
	Duration:		00:08:35
	Publish Date:		2020-01-18 12:00:00
	Description:		Getting out of prison is a chance to make a fresh start. But people who’ve paid their debt to society often find there’s another debt hanging over their heads. And that can be a huge hindrance to getting life back on track. It’s called a legal financial obligation, or LFO. These are fees imposed on criminal defendants. Some help pay for running the court. Some are for restitution to the victim. Some are simply for punishment. Even when LFOs start out as a few hundred dollars, they can balloon into the thousands, thanks to double-digit interest rates. Cynthia Brady, 58, from Bremerton is working to pay down about $1,000 in legal debts. A friend of hers had a much higher bill. “She owed like, close to $80,000 in Kitsap County,” Brady said. Now, imagine someone comes along and knocks that debt down to an amount you can actually afford. This is what happened in September 2019, when hundreds of people, including Brady, showed up at a Tacoma courtroom. Pierce County Superior Court Judge
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