On June 8, California’s Judicial Council, which governs the state’s court system, ordered judges to stop requiring people to pay bail in order to contest minor traffic tickets. It’s a small but laudable step to reform the criminal justice policies that impose heavy court fees and fines on defendants.

Facing budget cuts, courts and local governments increasingly rely on various fees and fines collected from criminal defendants as revenue streams. For example, in 2013 Ferguson, Missouri, received more than 11 percent of its budget from fines and court costs. But Ferguson is not the only municipality that wrings money out of poor people to fill holes in the budget.

In many cities across the United States, judges impose fines and court costs, regardless of whether defendants are able to pay. Each state, county, city and sometimes prison, jail and judge makes independent decisions about fines and fees. If a person does not pay the fees, judges may issue arrest warrants.

Once in jail, detainees may be billed pay-to-stay charges for their cell, board, clothing, medical care, telephone calls and even toilet paper. Those who cannot afford to pay pile up debts that they will have to pay to the state after their release.

When defendants are released on probation or parole, they may be required to pay for the services of a probation officer and for electronic monitoring.

The Brennan Center for Justice, a public policy institute at the New York University School of Law, estimates that 10 million people owe the government a total of $50 billion because of their involvement with the criminal justice system.

In Florida and Wisconsin, where prisons are authorized to recoup fees from the estates of inmates who die in jail, prison charges outlive prisoners.

That’s not all: In 43 states and the District of Columbia, the court may order defendants to pay for public defender services. Criminal defendants have a right to an attorney, and at least in theory, if they cannot afford private counsel, the state may appoint a public defender to represent them. But charging for the privilege violates the Sixth Amendment’s rights to counsel. In Washington state, defendants pay for the right to trial by a jury: $125 for a six-person jury and $250 for a 12-person jury. That’s one of 17 fees and fines that courts in Washington may impose at sentencing.