Poverty Penalties and Poverty Traps

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State Statute Description/Statute Name Statutory language Type of poverty penalty or poverty trap Level of offense Mandatory
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Colorado Colo. Rev. Stat. § 16-11-101.6(1) Collection of Fines and Fees - Methods - Charges - Judicial Collection Enforcement Fund

If the defendant is assessed any fines, fees, costs, surcharges, or other monetary assessments with regard to the sentencing, disposition, or adjudication of a felony, misdemeanor, juvenile delinquency petition, petty

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offense, traffic offense, or traffic infraction and does not pay all amounts assessed in full on the date of the assessment, the defendant shall pay to the clerk of the court an additional time payment fee of twenty-five dollars. The time payment fee may be assessed once per case; except that, if amounts owed in the case have still not been paid in full one year after the date of the assessment, said fee shall be assessed annually until the defendant has fully satisfied his or her financial obligation in the case. In addition, there may be assessed against a defendant a late penalty fee of ten dollars each time a payment toward the fines, fees, costs, surcharges, or other amounts owed is not received on or before the date due.

Collection fee/interest All Yes
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Colorado Colo. Rev. Stat. § 18-1.3-207(2) Work and Education Release Programs

All employment income of a probationer participating in a work release program shall be received and deposited by the probation officer in the registry of the court.

Work program/jail industry program All Yes
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Colorado C.R.S. 16-18.5-105(2);(3) Monitoring - Default - Penalties

(2)   In addition to any other costs that may accrue, for each payment of restitution that a defendant fails to make within seven days after the date that the payment

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is due pursuant to any payment schedule established pursuant to this article, the late penalty fee established in section 16-11-101.6 shall be assessed, and the associated provisions of section 16-11-101.6 may apply. The late fees shall be collected from the defendant after the defendant has satisfied all orders for restitution. All payments for late fees shall be credited to the judicial collection enhancement fund created in section 16-11-101.6 (2). (3)   Whenever a defendant fails to make a payment of restitution within seven days after the date that the payment is due pursuant to a payment schedule established pursuant to this article, in addition to any other remedy, the collections investigator may: (a)  Conduct an additional financial investigation of the defendant as described in section 16-18.5-104 (3); (b)  Issue an attachment of earnings requiring that a certain portion of a defendant's earnings, not to exceed fifty percent, be withheld and applied to any unpaid restitution, if such an attachment does not adversely impact the defendant's ability to comply with other orders of the court. An attachment of earnings under this paragraph (b) may be modified to a lesser or greater amount based upon changes in a defendant's circumstances as long as the amount withheld does not exceed fifty percent and may be suspended or cancelled at the court's discretion. An attachment of earnings issued pursuant to this paragraph (b) shall be enforceable in the same manner as a garnishment in a civil action. For purposes of this section, "earnings" shall have the same meaning as set forth for any type of garnishment in section 13-54.5-101, C.R.S., and shall include profits. (c)  Request that the clerk of the court issue a writ of execution, writ of attachment, or other civil process to collect upon a judgment pursuant to article 52 of title 13, C.R.S.; (d)  Request that the court issue a notice to show cause requiring the defendant to appear before the court and show cause why the required payment or payments were not made. Upon a finding of the defendant's failure to pay, unless the defendant establishes that he or she was unable to make the payments, the court may: (I)  Revoke probation and impose any other sentence permitted by law; (II)  Order that the defendant be confined to jail with a recommendation that the defendant participate in a work release program; (III)  Extend the period of probation; or (IV)  Find the defendant in contempt of court and impose any authorized penalties for such action. (e) (I)  Employ any method available to collect state receivables, including the assignment of the defendant's accounts to a third party that has an agreement with the judicial department under this paragraph (e). (II)  The judicial department may enter into agreements with third parties for collection-related services. Any fees or costs of the third parties shall be added to the amount of restitution owed by the defendant, but such fees and costs shall not exceed twenty-five percent of the amount collected.

Increased fine All Yes
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Iowa Iowa Code § 909.5 Nonpayment of fines and court costs — contempt

A person who is able to pay a fine, court-imposed court costs for a criminal proceeding, or both, or an installment of the fine or the court-imposed court costs, or

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both, and who refuses to do so, or who fails to make a good faith effort to pay the fine, court costs, or both, or any installment thereof, shall be held in contempt of court.

Incarceration All Yes
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Iowa Iowa Code § 665.4 Contempts: Punishment

The punishment for contempt, where not otherwise specifically provided, shall be:

1. In the supreme court or the court of appeals, by a fine not exceeding one thousand dollars or by

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imprisonment in a county jail not exceeding six months, or by both such fine and imprisonment.

2. Before district judges, district associate judges, and associate juvenile judges by a fine not exceeding five hundred dollars or imprisonment in a county jail not exceeding six months or by both such fine and imprisonment.

3. Before judicial magistrates, by a fine not exceeding one hundred dollars or imprisonment in a county jail not exceeding thirty days.

Increased fine All Yes
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Iowa Iowa Code § 8A.504(d)(3),(2) Setoff Procedures

d. “Qualifying debt” includes, but is not limited to, the following: (3) Any debt which is in the form of a liquidated sum due, owing, and payable to the clerk of

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the district court.

2. Setoff procedure. The collection entity shall establish and maintain a procedure to set off against any claim owed to a person by a public agency any liability of that person owed to a public agency, a support debt being enforced by the child support recovery unit pursuant to chapter 252B, or such other qualifying debt.

Wage/bank account garnishment All Yes
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Iowa Iowa Code § 910.4(1)(a)-(b) Condition of probation — payment plan

1. When restitution is ordered by the sentencing court and the offender is placed on probation, restitution shall be a condition of probation.

a. Failure of the offender to comply with

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the plan of restitution, plan of payment, or community service requirements when community service is ordered by the court as restitution, shall constitute a violation of probation and shall constitute contempt of court.

b. If an offender fails to comply with restitution requirements during probation, the court may hold the offender in contempt, revoke probation, or extend the period of probation.

Condition or extension of supervision All Yes
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Iowa Iowa Code § 910.5(4)(b) Condition of work release or parole

If an offender is to be placed on parole, restitution shall be a condition of parole.

b. After the expiration of the offender’s sentence, the failure of an offender to comply with

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the plan of restitution ordered by the court shall constitute contempt of court.

Incarceration All Yes
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Iowa Iowa Code § 910.7A Judgment — enforcement.

1. An order requiring an offender to pay restitution constitutes a judgment and lien against all property of a liable defendant for the amount the defendant is obligated to pay

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under the order and may be recorded in any office for the filing of liens against real or personal property.

2. A judgment of restitution may be enforced by the state, a victim entitled under the order to receive restitution, a deceased victim’s estate, or any other beneficiary of the judgment in the same manner as a civil judgment.

Property liens All Yes
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Iowa Iowa Code § 815.9(7)-(8) Indigency determined — penalty

7. When ordering payment of all or a portion of the total costs and fees incurred for legal assistance under subsection 6, the court may order payment of the costs and

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fees in reasonable installments as provided in section 909.3, or may order the entire amount due and payable. If any costs and fees are not paid at the time specified in the order of the court, a judgment shall be entered against the person for any unpaid amount. Such judgment may be enforced by the state in the same manner as a civil judgment.

8. If a person is granted an appointed attorney or has received legal assistance in accordance with this section and the person is employed, the person shall execute an assignment of wages. An order for assignment of income, in a reasonable amount to be determined by the court, shall be entered by the court. The state public defender shall prescribe forms for use in wage assignments and court orders entered under this subsection.

Wage/bank account garnishment All Yes
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Iowa Iowa Code § 321.210A(1) Suspension for failure to pay fine, surcharge, or costs

1. The department shall suspend the driver’s license of a person who, upon conviction of violating a law regulating the operation of a motor vehicle, has failed to pay the criminal

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fine or penalty, surcharge, or court costs, as follows:

a. Upon the failure of a person to timely pay the fine, penalty, surcharge, or court costs the clerk of the district court shall notify the person by regular mail that if the fine, penalty, surcharge, or court costs remain unpaid after sixty days from the date of mailing, the clerk will notify the department of the failure for purposes of instituting suspension procedures.

b. Upon the failure of a person to pay the fine, penalty, surcharge, or court costs within sixty days’ notice by the clerk of the district court as provided in paragraph “b”, the clerk shall report the failure to the department.

c. Upon receipt of a report of a failure to pay the fine, penalty, surcharge, or court costs from the clerk of the district court, the department shall in accordance with its rules, suspend the person’s driver’s license until the fine, penalty, surcharge, or court costs are paid.

Driver's license suspension/impoundment Traffic Yes