50-State Criminal Justice Debt Reform Builder Bringing transparency to areas of significant legal complexity.
Ability to Pay
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Below are the ability to pay laws that meet your search criteria. Many include a See related provisions prompt which searches our database for laws that may pertain to your result.
2 Results
| State | Statute | Description/Statute Name | Statutory language | Level of offense | Definition of ability to pay | Timeline | Burden of proof | Method of determination | Mandatory | Remedies if unable to pay | |
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Alabama | Al. R. Cr. P. 26.11(b), (g) | Fines and Restitution: Imposition of Fine and Inquiry into Defendant's Ability to Pay Fine or Restitution |
(b) If the court is given authority to impose a fine, in determining whether to impose a fine, the court should consider: (1) Whether there are particular reasons which make a fine appropriate as punishment for the defendant; (2) The financial resources and obligations of the defendant and the burden that payment of a fine will impose; (3) The ability of the defendant to pay a fine forthwith on an installment basis or on other conditions to be fixed by the court; (4) The extent to which payment of a fine will interfere with the ability of the defendant to make restitution or reparation to the victim of the crime; and (5) The amount of gain derived by the defendant or loss sustained by the victim as a result of defendant's commission of the offense, which amount shall be determined by the court from evidence presented at the sentence hearing if not stipulated by the parties.
(g) If a defendant fails to pay a fine or restitution as directed, the court may inquire and cause an investigation to be made into the defendant's financial, employment, and family standing, and the reasons for nonpayment of the fine and/or restitution, including whether nonpayment of the fine and/or restitution was contumacious or due to indigency.
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Indigency, |
At enforcement of fine or fee | Not provided for | Not provided for | No |
(h) REMEDIES FOR NONPAYMENT OF FINE OR RESTITUTION. If the defendant fails to pay a fine and/or restitution, the court may: (1) Reduce the fine to an amount the defendant is able to pay; (2) Continue or modify the schedule of payments of the fine and/or restitution; (3) Direct that the defendant be incarcerated until the unpaid fine and/or restitution, or any portion thereof, is paid, subject, however, to section (i) of this rule; (4) Order an employer to withhold amounts from wages to pay fines and/or restitution; or (5) Release the defendant from obligation to pay the fine.
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Kentucky | Ky. Rev. Stat. Ann. § 534.020 | "Methods of imposing fines; installment payment plan; determination of reason for defendant's default; show cause hearing; certain installment payments not to be reported as liquidated debt" |
(2) If the court establishes an installment payment plan for a defendant to pay the full amount of court costs, fees, or fines: (a) The defendant shall be given notice of the total amount due, the payment frequency, and the date by which all payments must be made. The notice shall indicate that if the defendant has not complied with the installment payment plan by the scheduled date, he or she shall appear on that date to show good cause as to why he or she is unable to satisfy the obligations. This notice shall be given to the defendant in writing on a form provided by the Administrative Office of the Courts;
(3)(a) If a defendant is required to appear at a show cause hearing pursuant to subsection (2)(a) of this section, the court shall determine whether the defendant's default in payment of court costs, fees, or fines is: 1. Excusable due to an inability to pay, and if so, the court may enter an order allowing additional time for payment, reducing the amount of each installment, or modifying the manner of payment in any other way; or 2. Willful and not due to an inability to pay, and if so, the court may order the defendant to jail on the condition that the defendant shall be released upon payment or completion of daily credit pursuant to KRS 534.070. |
All | Not provided for | At enforcement of fine or fee | Not provided for | Determined by judge after hearing | Yes |
Allowing additional time for payment, reducing the amount of each installment, or modifying the manner of payment in any other way. |
The Criminal Justice Debt Reform Builder is a project of the National Criminal Justice Debt Initiative of the Criminal Justice Policy Program at Harvard Law School in collaboration with the Berkman Klein Center for Internet & Society at Harvard University and with user experience design by metaLAB (at) Harvard.
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