50-State Criminal Justice Debt Reform Builder Bringing transparency to areas of significant legal complexity.
Poverty Penalties and Poverty Traps
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See all poverty penalty and poverty trap policy recommendations in CJPP’s Policy Guide
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- Payment plan/installment plan (12)
- Property liens (5)
- Wage/bank account garnishment (6)
- Work program/jail industry program (6)
Mandatory
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Level of Offense
Below are the poverty penalties and poverty traps that meet your search criteria. Many include a See related provisions prompt which searches our database for laws that may pertain to your result.
51 Results
| State | Statute | Description/Statute Name | Statutory language | Type of poverty penalty or poverty trap | Level of offense | Mandatory | |
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Arkansas | Ark. Code Ann. § 5-26-413 | Temporary Support Order |
At any time before a trial or pending appeal, upon motion of a complainant and upon notice to the defendant, the court may: ...(2) Punish for violation of the temporary support order as for contempt.
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Incarceration | All | No |
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Arkansas | Ark. Code Ann. § 5-4-206(b) | Collection of Unpaid Restitution--Interception of State Income Tax Returns |
A court that orders the payment of restitution as a condition of a defendant's sentence shall note on the restitution order that the restitution may be collected through an interception of the defendant's state income tax return if the defendant has failed to comply with the terms and conditions of the restitution order.
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Wage/bank account garnishment | All | No |
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Arkansas | Ark. Code Ann. § 5-4-204(a) | Collection After Default |
When a defendant sentenced to pay a fine or costs defaults in the payment of the fine or costs or of any installment, the fine or costs may be collected by any means authorized for the enforcement of a money judgment in a civil action.
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Wage/bank account garnishment | All | No |
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Arkansas | Ark. Code Ann. § 5-4-204(a) | Collection After Default |
When a defendant sentenced to pay a fine or costs defaults in the payment of the fine or costs or of any installment, the fine or costs may be collected by any means authorized for the enforcement of a money judgment in a civil action.
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Property liens | All | No |
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Arkansas | Ark. Code Ann. § 5-4-303(c) | Conditions of Suspension or Probation |
(c) If the court suspends imposition of sentence on a defendant or places him or her on probation, as a condition of its order the court may require that the defendant: (1) Support his or her dependents and meet his or her family responsibilities . . . (6) Make restitution to an aggrieved party in an amount the defendant can afford to pay for the actual loss or damage caused by his or her offense
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Condition or extension of supervision | All | No |
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Arkansas | Ark. Code Ann. § 5-4-303(f)(1)(C) | Conditions of Suspension or Probation |
(f)(1) If the court suspends imposition of sentence on a defendant or places him or her on probation conditioned upon his or her making restitution under subdivision (c)(6) of this section, the court, by concurrence of the victim, defendant, and the prosecuting authority, shall determine the amount to be paid as restitution . . . and (C) If a personal service is contemplated, the reasonable value and rate of compensation for the personal service rendered to the victim.
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Work program/jail industry program | All | No |
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Arkansas | Ark. Code Ann. § 5-4-303(f)(2) | Conditions of Suspension or Probation |
After considering the assets, financial condition, and occupation of the defendant, the court shall further determine: (A) Whether restitution shall be total or partial; (B) The amounts to be paid if by periodic payments.
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Payment plan/installment plan | All | No |
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Arkansas | Ark. Code Ann. § 17-1-103(d)(1) | Registration, Certification, and Licensing for Criminal Offenders |
For the purposes of this section, completion of the following shall be deemed prima facie evidence of sufficient rehabilitation: (1) Probation or parole supervision. |
Driver's license suspension/impoundment | All | No |
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Arkansas | Ark. Code Ann. § 16-17-131 | Suspension of License for Failure to Appear |
(a) A person required to appear before a district court in this state, having been served with any form of notice to appear for any criminal offense, traffic violation, or misdemeanor charge, shall appear at the time and place designated in the notice.
(b)(1) If a person fails to appear as required in subsection (a) of this section, the presiding judge may suspend the person's driver's license.(2) The license shall be suspended until the person appears and completes the sentence ordered by the court.(3) After the person satisfies all requirements of the sentence, the Department of Finance and Administration shall assess the current fees for reinstatement of a driver's license. |
Driver's license suspension/impoundment | All | No |
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Arkansas | Ark. Code Ann. § 5-4-202 | Alternative Sentence Prohibited -- Time of Payment |
(a) If the defendant is sentenced to pay a fine or costs, the court shall not at the same time impose an alternative sentence or imprisonment to be served if the fine or costs are not paid.
(b)(1) If a defendant is sentenced to pay a fine or costs, the court may grant permission for payment to be made:(A) Within a specified period of time; or(B) In specified installments.(2) If permission under subdivision (b)(1) of this section is not granted in the sentence, the fine or costs are payable immediately. |
Payment plan/installment plan | All | No |
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Arkansas | Ark. Code Ann. § 16-92-102 | Costs and Fees -- Execution |
(a) The clerk of the court, at the end of each term, shall issue executions for all fines imposed on indictments, in penal actions, or otherwise, and for the costs of conviction in criminal cases during the term, and remaining unpaid, which shall be executed in the same manner as executions in civil cases. The property of the defendant may be seized and sold, notwithstanding that he or she may be in custody for the same demand.
(b) In every case where a witness is summoned by a special subpoena to testify in a particular case in which an indictment may be found, it shall be the duty of the clerk to tax the attendance of the witness with the cost of the suit, to be collected from the defendant, in the event that judgment shall be rendered against him or her therefor, and to be paid into the county treasury. |
Property liens | All | No |
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Arkansas | A.C.A. § 3-3-102 | Sentences and Fines |
(a) When a jail sentence is inflicted as part of the punishment, all persons convicted under this act shall serve out the sentence at hard labor; (b) All fines and costs assessed against any person under this act and not paid or replevied shall be served out by confinement at hard labor at the rate of one (1) day for each one dollar ($1.00) of the fine and costs.
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Work program/jail industry program | All | No |
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Arkansas | A.C.A. § 16-13-707 | Lien on Property |
(a) When a defendant sentenced to pay a fine defaults in the payment thereof or of any installment, the fine may be collected by any means authorized for the enforcement of money judgments in civil actions; (b) A judgment that the defendant pay a fine shall constitute a lien on the real and personal property of the defendant in the same manner and to the same extent as a money judgment in a civil action.
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Property liens | All | No |
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Oklahoma | Okla. Stat. tit. 22, § 1355.14A | Payment of costs of representation--Fee schedule |
At the time of pronouncing the judgment and sentence or other final order, the court shall order any person represented by an attorney employed by the Oklahoma Indigent Defense System + See moreor a defense attorney who contracts or volunteers to represent indigents pursuant to the provisions of the Indigent Defense Act to pay the costs for representation in total or in installments and, in the case of installment payments, set the amount and due date of each installment.
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Payment plan/installment plan | All | No |
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Oklahoma | Okla. Stat. tit. 10A, § 1-4-701B | Reimbursements and costs by parents able to pay |
The court may order the terms and conditions of the payment of costs and expenses described in subsection A of this section. When any parent is financially able but has + See morewillfully failed to pay the costs and reimbursements as ordered by the court pursuant to this section, the parent may be held in indirect contempt of court and, upon conviction, shall be punished pursuant to Section 566 of Title 21 of the Oklahoma Statutes.
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Increased fine | All | No |
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Oklahoma | Okla. Stat. tit. 22, § 979a | Payment of jail costs by inmate |
The sheriff, municipality or other public entity responsible for the operation of the jail may collect costs of incarceration ordered by the court from the jail account of the inmate. + See moreIf the funds collected from the jail account of the inmate are insufficient to satisfy the actual incarceration costs ordered by the court, the sheriff, municipality or other public entity responsible for the operation of the jail is authorized to collect the remaining balance of the incarceration costs by civil action.
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Wage/bank account garnishment | All | No |
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Oklahoma | 22 Okl.St.Ann. § 983A | Imprisonment or recommendation of suspension of driving privileges for failure to pay fines, costs, fees, or assessments--Hearing--Installments |
Any defendant found guilty of an offense in any court of this state may be imprisoned for nonpayment of the fine, cost, fee, or assessment when the trial court finds + See moreafter notice and hearing that the defendant is financially able but refuses or neglects to pay the fine, cost, fee, or assessment. A sentence to pay a fine, cost, fee, or assessment may be converted into a jail sentence only after a hearing and a judicial determination, memorialized of record, that the defendant is able to satisfy the fine, cost, fee, or assessment by payment, but refuses or neglects so to do.
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Incarceration | All | No |
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Oklahoma | 22 Okl.St.Ann. § 983B | Imprisonment or recommendation of suspension of driving privileges for failure to pay fines, costs, fees, or assessments--Hearing--Installments |
After a judicial determination that the defendant is able to pay the fine, cost, fee, or assessment in installments, the court may order the fine, cost, fee, or assessment to + See morebe paid in installments and shall set the amount and date for each installment.
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Payment plan/installment plan | All | No |
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Oklahoma | 22 Okl.St.Ann. § 983C | Imprisonment or recommendation of suspension of driving privileges for failure to pay fines, costs, fees, or assessments--Hearing--Installments |
In addition, the district court or municipal court, within one hundred twenty (120) days from the date upon which the person was originally ordered to make payment, may send notice + See moreof nonpayment of any court ordered fine and costs for a moving traffic violation to the Department of Public Safety with a recommendation of suspension of driving privileges of the defendant until the total amount of any fine and costs has been paid. Upon receipt of payment of the total amount of the fine and costs for the moving traffic violation, the court shall send notice thereof to the Department, if a nonpayment notice was sent as provided for in this subsection. Notices sent to the Department shall be on forms or by a method approved by the Department.
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Driver's license suspension/impoundment | Traffic | No |
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Oklahoma | 11 Okl.St.Ann. § 14-111 | Enforcement and penalties for violation of municipal ordinances |
The governing body may provide that any person fined for violation of a municipal ordinance who is financially able but refuses or neglects to pay the fine or costs may + See morebe compelled to satisfy the amount owed by working on the streets, alleys, avenues, areas, and public grounds of the municipality, subject to the direction of the street commissioner or other proper officer, at a rate per day as the governing body may prescribe by ordinance, but not less than Fifty Dollars ($50.00) per day for useful labor, until the fine or costs are satisfied.
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Work program/jail industry program | Misdemeanor | No |
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.
For more information, please visit cjpp.law.harvard.edu.