50-State Criminal Justice Debt Reform Builder Bringing transparency to areas of significant legal complexity.
Poverty Penalties and Poverty Traps
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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.
15 Results
| State | Statute | Description/Statute Name | Statutory language | Type of poverty penalty or poverty trap | Level of offense | Mandatory | |
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Illinois | 730 Ill. Comp. Stat. 5/5-6-3(a)(7) | Conditions of probation and of conditional discharge |
(7) if he or she is at least 17 years of age and has been sentenced to probation or conditional discharge for a misdemeanor or felony in a county of 3,000,000 or more inhabitants and has not been previously convicted of a misdemeanor or felony, may be required by the sentencing court to attend educational courses designed to prepare the defendant for a high school diploma and to work toward a high school diploma or to work toward passing high school equivalency testing or to work toward completing a vocational training program approved by the court. The person on probation or conditional discharge must attend a public institution of education to obtain the educational or vocational training required by this paragraph (7). The court shall revoke the probation or conditional discharge of a person who wilfully fails to comply with this paragraph (7). The person on probation or conditional discharge shall be required to pay for the cost of the educational courses or high school equivalency testing if a fee is charged for those courses or testing.
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Condition or extension of supervision | All | Yes |
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Illinois | 730 Ill. Comp. Stat. 5/5-6-3(i) | Conditions of probation and of conditional discharge |
(i) The court shall impose upon an offender sentenced to probation after January 1, 1989 or to conditional discharge after January 1, 1992 or to community service under the supervision of a probation or court services department after January 1, 2004, as a condition of such probation or conditional discharge or supervised community service, a fee of $50 for each month of probation or conditional discharge supervision or supervised community service ordered by the court, unless after determining the inability of the person sentenced to probation or conditional discharge or supervised community service to pay the fee, the court assesses a lesser fee.
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Condition or extension of supervision | All | Yes |
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Illinois | 730 ILCS 5/5-6-3(b)(10)(iv) | Conditions of probation and of conditional discharge |
(iv) for persons convicted of any alcohol, cannabis or controlled substance violation who are placed on an approved monitoring device as a condition of probation or conditional discharge, the court shall impose a reasonable fee for each day of the use of the device, as established by the county board in subsection (g) of this Section, unless after determining the inability of the offender to pay the fee, the court assesses a lesser fee or no fee as the case may be.
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Condition or extension of supervision | All | Yes |
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Illinois | 725 Ill. Comp. Stat. 5/124A-10 | Lien |
The property, real and personal, of a person who is convicted of an offense shall be bound, and a lien is created on the property, both real and personal, of every offender, not exempt from the enforcement of a judgment or attachment, from the time of finding the indictment at least so far as will be sufficient to pay the fine and costs of prosecution.
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Property liens | All | Yes |
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Illinois | 730 Ill. Comp. Stat. 5/5-9-3(e) | Fines: Default |
An additional fee of 30% of the delinquent amount and each taxable court cost including, without limitation, costs of service of process, shall be charged to the offender for any amount of the fine, fee, cost, restitution, or judgment of bond forfeiture or installment of the fine, fee, cost, restitution, or judgment of bond forfeiture that remains unpaid after the time fixed for payment of the fine, fee, cost, restitution, or judgment of bond forfeiture by the court.
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Collection fee/interest | All | Yes |
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Illinois | 730 Ill. Comp. Stat. 5/5-9-3(e) | Fines: Default |
A default in payment of a fine, fee, cost, restitution, or judgment of bond forfeiture shall draw interest at the rate of 9% per annum. |
Collection fee/interest | All | Yes |
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Illinois | 625 Ill. Comp. Stat. 5/6-206.1 | Monitoring Device Driving Permit |
Declaration of Policy. It is hereby declared a policy of the State of Illinois that the driver who is impaired by alcohol, other drug or drugs, or intoxicating compound or compounds is a threat to the public safety and welfare. Therefore, to provide a deterrent to such practice, a statutory summary driver’s license suspension is appropriate. It is also recognized that driving is a privilege and therefore, that the granting of driving privileges, in a manner consistent with public safety, is warranted during the period of suspension in the form of a monitoring device driving permit . . . Any offender participating in the MDDP program must pay the Secretary a MDDP Administration Fee in an amount not to exceed $30 per month, to be deposited into the Monitoring Device Driving Permit Administration Fee Fund. The Secretary shall establish by rule the amount and the procedures, terms, and conditions relating to these fees. The offender must have an ignition interlock device installed within 14 days of the date the Secretary issues the MDDP. The ignition interlock device provider must notify the Secretary, in a manner and form prescribed by the Secretary, of the installation. If the Secretary does not receive notice of installation, the Secretary shall cancel the MDDP
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Driver's license suspension/impoundment | Traffic | 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 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.
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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 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 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 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 the plan of restitution ordered by the court shall constitute contempt of court.
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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 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 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 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 |
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For more information, please visit cjpp.law.harvard.edu.