50-State Criminal Justice Debt Reform Builder Bringing transparency to areas of significant legal complexity.
Poverty Penalties and Poverty Traps
Keyword search across all of the laws in the states. Subject-area tabs above allow you to narrow results. Click the advanced search for further refinement.
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See all poverty penalty and poverty trap policy recommendations in CJPP’s Policy Guide
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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.
10 Results
| State | Statute | Description/Statute Name | Statutory language | Type of poverty penalty or poverty trap | Level of offense | Mandatory | |
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Delaware | 4 Del. C. § 902 | Offenses Carrying Penalty of Fine of $500 to $1,000 or Imprisonment for 3 to 6 Months on Failure to Pay Fine |
In addition to payment of costs, be fined not less than $500 nor more than $1,000, and, on failure to pay such fine and costs, shall be imprisoned not less than 3 nor more than 6 months. Justices of the peace shall have original jurisdiction to hear, try, and finally determine alleged violations of this section.
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Incarceration | Misdemeanor | Yes |
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Delaware | 10 Del. C. § 8709 | Neglect or Refusal to Pay Fees; Penalty |
Whoever neglects or refuses to pay the fees provided for in §§ 8707 and 8708 of this title, for any service performed within 10 days after written demand from the officer to whom such fees are due, shall be fined $ 10 besides costs of suit.
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Increased fine | All | Yes |
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Delaware | 11 Del. C. § 4104(a)(3) | Fines, Costs or Restitution; How Collected; Holding Operator's License as Security for Payment |
(a) When a court imposes a fine, costs or restitution upon a defendant, the court or justice of the peace may direct as follows: . . . (3) Where the defendant is sentenced to a period of probation as well as fine, costs or restitution that payment of the fines, costs or restitution shall be a condition of the probation.
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Condition or extension of supervision | All | Yes |
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Delaware | 21 Del. C. § 2732(b) | Mandatory Revocation or Suspension of License or Refusal to Renew or Issue a Duplicate License |
Upon receiving a record of the failure of a convicted person to pay a fine, costs or both as described in § 2731(b) of this title, or to timely complete a course of instruction pursuant to § 4175A or § 4177D of this title, the Department or its successor, shall: (1) If the convicted person is a resident of this State, forthwith suspend the convicted person's license until the fine, costs or both have been paid, or the court finds that the person has completed the necessary course of instruction and paid all applicable fees; and (2) If the convicted person is a nonresident of this State, forthwith suspend the convicted person's driving privileges in this State and immediately advise the Motor Vehicle Administrator of the state wherein the convicted person is a resident that the convicted person has failed to pay a fine, costs or both, or to timely complete a course of instruction pursuant to § 4175A or § 4177D of this title, and requesting that the convicted person's license to drive be suspended until the fine, costs or both have been paid, or the court finds that the person has completed the necessary course of instruction and paid all applicable fees.
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Driver's license suspension/impoundment | All | Yes |
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Delaware | 21 Del. C. § 709(j)(3) | Payment of Motor Vehicle Fines |
If a driver who has failed to pay a voluntary assessment or request a hearing within 30 days of the date of arrest appears at court, the charge shall be prosecuted as if the voluntary assessment had not been permitted and the officer shall swear to the Uniform Traffic Complaint and Summons prior to trial. The minimum fine provisions of subsection (g) of this section shall not apply. If the driver who appears pleads not guilty, the court shall provide the driver with a copy of the appearance bond to provide as proof of court appearance to the Division of Motor Vehicles.
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Other | Traffic | Yes |
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Texas | Tex. Code Crim. Proc. art. 42.15(c) | Fines and Costs |
When imposing a fine and costs in a misdemeanor case, if the court determines that the defendant is unable to immediately pay the fine and costs, the court shall allow the defendant to pay the fine and costs in specified portions at designated intervals.
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Payment plan/installment plan | Misdemeanor | Yes |
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Texas | Tex. Loc. Gov't Code § 133.103(a) | Time Payment fee |
A person convicted of an offense shall pay, in addition to all other costs, a fee of $25 if the person:(1) has been convicted of a felony or misdemeanor; and (2) pays any part of a fine, court costs, or restitution on or after the 31st day after the date on which a judgment is entered assessing the fine, court costs, or restitution.
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Increased fine | All | Yes |
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Texas | Tex. Code Crim. Proc. Art. 42A.607 | Disposition of Salary |
If a defendant who is required as a condition of community supervision to serve a term of confinement under this subchapter is not required by the judge to deliver the defendant’s salary to the restitution center director, the employer of the defendant shall deliver the salary to the director. The director shall deposit the salary into a fund to be given to the defendant on release after the director deducts:
(1) the cost to the center for the defendant’s food, housing, and supervision; (2) the necessary expense for the defendant’s travel to and from work and community service projects, and other incidental expenses of the defendant; (3) support of the defendant’s dependents; and (4) restitution to the victims of an offense committed by the defendant |
Wage/bank account garnishment | All | Yes |
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Texas | Tex. Gov't Code Sec. 501.014(a),(e)(2),(4)-(6) | Inmate Money |
(a) The department shall take possession of all money that an inmate has on the inmate’s person or that is received with the inmate when the inmate arrives at a facility to be admitted to the custody of the department and all money the inmate receives at the department during confinement and shall credit the money to an account created for the inmate . . .
(e) On notification by a court, the department shall withdraw from an inmate’s account any amount the inmate is ordered to pay by order of the court under this subsection. On receipt of a valid court order requiring an inmate to pay child support, the department shall withdraw the appropriate amount from the inmate’s account under this subsection, regardless of whether the court order is provided by the court or another person. The department shall make a payment under this subsection as ordered by the court to either the court or the party specified in the court order. The department is not liable for withdrawing or failing to withdraw money or making payments or failing to make payments under this subsection. The department shall make withdrawals and payments from an inmate’s account under this subsection according to the following schedule of priorities: . . . (2) as payment in full for all orders for restitution . . . (4) as payment in full for all orders for court fees and costs; (5) as payment in full for all orders for fines; and (6) as payment in full for any other court order, judgment, or writ. |
Wage/bank account garnishment | All | Yes |
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Texas | Tex. Code Crim. Proc. Art. 42A.607 | Disposition of Salary |
If a defendant who is required as a condition of community supervision to serve a term of confinement under this subchapter is not required by the judge to deliver the defendant’s salary to the restitution center director, the employer of the defendant shall deliver the salary to the director. The director shall deposit the salary into a fund to be given to the defendant on release after the director deducts: (1) the cost to the center for the defendant’s food, housing, and supervision; (2) the necessary expense for the defendant’s travel to and from work and community service projects, and other incidental expenses of the defendant; (3) support of the defendant’s dependents; and (4) restitution to the victims of an offense committed by the defendant.
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Wage/bank account garnishment | All | Yes |
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.