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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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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.
54 Results
| State | Statute | Description/Statute Name | Statutory language | Type of poverty penalty or poverty trap | Level of offense | Mandatory | |
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Kentucky | Ky. Rev. Stat. Ann. § 534.020(3)(b),(4) | 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 |
(b) If the defendant fails to appear at the show cause hearing, the court may issue a warrant for the defendant's arrest. Any warrant for arrest issued for nonpayment of court costs, fees, or fines pursuant to this subsection shall include a notice to the jailer that the defendant shall be released upon payment or completion of daily credit pursuant to KRS 534.070.
(4) When a defendant is sentenced to pay court costs, fees, or fines, an alternative sentence of imprisonment that is to be served in the event the court costs, fees, or fines are not paid shall not be imposed at the same time. The response of a court to nonpayment shall be determined only after: (a) The court costs, fees, or fines have not been paid; and (b) 1. The show cause hearing has been held pursuant to subsections (2)(a) and (3)(a) of this section; or 2. The defendant has failed to appear at the show cause hearing as outlined in subsection (3)(b) of this section. |
Other | All | No |
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Kentucky | Ky. Rev. Stat. Ann. § 534.070(1) | Incarceration for failure to pay fine or court costs or failure to appear in court; daily credit against fine or court costs for time served; application of partial payment |
(1) A defendant who has been sentenced to jail for failure to pay court costs, fees, or fines or for failure to appear in court on a date set for the sole purpose of addressing nonpayment of court costs, fees, or fines shall receive credit against the court costs, fees, or fines owed for each day the defendant spends in jail . . .
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Incarceration | All | No |
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Kentucky | Ky. Rev. Stat. Ann. § 431.100 |
Withholding of money payable by Commonwealth to defendant in satisfaction of money judgment in criminal proceeding; fines and forfeitures go to Commonwealth; disposition of fines from offenses relating to alcohol + See moreand to criminal littering; monetary . . .
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When a money judgment is entered against a defendant in a criminal proceeding and each sum, or any part thereof, remains unpaid, there shall be withheld from any disbursement, payment, benefit, compensation, salary, or other transfer of money from the Commonwealth of Kentucky to such defendant an amount equal to the unpaid amount of the judgment. Under no circumstances shall the general fund be used to reimburse court costs or pay for judgment.
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Wage/bank account garnishment | All | Yes |
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Kentucky | Ky. RCr 2.05 | Bench Warrants |
Whenever a witness or defendant fails to appear in court as duly required, the presiding judge may issue a warrant for his or her arrest without the necessity of a supporting affidavit or complaint.
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Other | All | No |
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Kentucky | Ky. Rev. Stat. Ann. § 534.020(1) | 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 |
When a defendant is sentenced to pay a fine, the court may provide for payment to be made within a specified period of time or in specified installments. If no such provision is made a part of the sentence, then the fine shall be payable forthwith.
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Payment plan/installment plan | All | No |
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Kentucky | Ky. Rev. Stat. Ann. § 532.033(8) | Order of restitution |
When a judge orders restitution, the judge shall: (8) Not release the defendant from probation supervision until restitution has been paid in full and all other aspects of the probation order have been successfully completed.
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Condition or extension of supervision | All | Yes |
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Kentucky | Ky. Rev. Stat. Ann. § 24A.175(4) | Court cost enforcement |
(4) If the court finds that the defendant does not meet the standard articulated in subsection (3) of this section and that the defendant is nonetheless unable to pay the full amount of the court costs, fees, or fines at the time of sentencing, then the court may establish an installment payment plan in accordance with KRS 534.020.
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Payment plan/installment plan | All | No |
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Kentucky | Ky. Rev. Stat. Ann. § 441.265(3),(5)-(7) | Required reimbursement by prisoner of costs of confinement; local policy of fee and expense rates; billing and collection methods |
(3) The jailer or his designee may bill and attempt to collect any amount owed which remains unpaid. The governing body of the county may, upon the advice of the jailer, contract with one (1) or more public agencies or private vendors to perform this billing and collection. Within twelve (12) months after the date of the prisoner's release from confinement, the county attorney, jailer, or the jailer's designee, may file a civil action to seek reimbursement from that prisoner for any amount owed which remains unpaid . . .
(6) Payment of any required fees may be automatically deducted from the prisoner's property or canteen account. If the prisoner has no funds in his account, a deduction may be made creating a negative balance. If funds become available or if the prisoner reenters the jail at a later date, the fees may be deducted from the prisoner's property or canteen account. (7) Prior to the prisoner's release, the jailer or his designee may work with the confined prisoner to create a reimbursement plan to be implemented upon the prisoner's release. At the end of the prisoner's incarceration, the prisoner shall be presented with a billing statement produced by the jailer or designee. After the prisoner's release, the jailer or his designee may, after negotiation with the prisoner, release the prisoner from all or part of the prisoner's repayment obligation if the jailer believes that the prisoner will be unable to pay the full amount due. |
Civil judgment | All | No |
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Kentucky | Ky. Rev. Stat. Ann. § 532.162(2) | Order as lien upon earnings; circuit clerk to disburse; fee |
(2) The circuit clerk's office shall disburse all collected reimbursement, restitution, and fees to the victim, the Kentucky Claims Commission, or the local government, whichever is appropriate. The clerk shall be entitled to collect a fee of two dollars and fifty cents ($2.50) from each account for which a disbursement is made at the time of disbursement. In the event of challenge to a garnishment, the appropriate clerk's office shall not disburse those sums associated with the challenged garnishment until determination by the sentencing court regarding the propriety of the garnishment.
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Increased fine | All | No |
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Kentucky | Ky. Rev. Stat. Ann. § 532.160(1) | Criminal garnishment |
(1) If a convicted person is unable to pay all court costs, fees, fines, and other monetary penalties at the time of sentencing, then the sentencing court may, consistent with KRS 23A.205, 24A.175, 534.020, and KRS 534.060, issue a criminal garnishment order for all fines under KRS Chapter 534 or KRS 49.480 and for court costs, restitution, and reimbursement charges in this chapter.
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Wage/bank account garnishment | All | No |
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Kentucky | Ky. Rev. Stat. Ann. § 532.168 | Show cause hearing for failure to comply with criminal garnishment order |
If a garnishee fails to comply with the terms of the order of criminal garnishment within thirty (30) days after its issuance, the attorney for the Commonwealth may move the court to order the garnishee to show cause why he should not be held in contempt. If the court finds that the failure was willful or grossly negligent, the court shall find the garnishee in contempt and shall award reasonable attorney's fees and costs, in addition to any contempt sanction it imposes.
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Incarceration | All | No |
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Kentucky | Ky. Rev. Stat. Ann. § 532.356(1)(a) | Reimbursement and restitution as additional sanctions; ineligibility to operate motor vehicle upon conviction of certain theft, fraud, and organized crime offenses |
(1) Upon a person's conviction and sentencing for any nonstatus juvenile offense, moving traffic violation, criminal violation, misdemeanor, or Class D felony offense, and, for the purposes of paragraph (b) of this subsection, any Class C felony offense listed in subsection (3) of this section, the court shall impose the following sanctions in addition to any imprisonment, fine, court cost, or community service:
(a) Reimbursement to the state or local government for the person's incarceration, determined by the per person, per diem, expenses of each prisoner incarcerated by the respective local government, times the number of days he has spent or shall spend in confinement, plus any medical services received by the prisoner, less copayments paid by the prisoner. The convicted person's ability to pay all or part of the reimbursement shall be considered by the sentencing court in imposing the sanction |
Increased fine | All | No |
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Utah | Utah Code Ann. § 77-38a-401 | Entry of judgment--Interest--Civil actions--Lien |
(1) Upon the court determining that a defendant owes restitution, the clerk of the court shall enter an order of complete restitution as defined in Section 77-38a-302 on the civil + See morejudgment docket and provide notice of the order to the parties. (2) The order shall be considered a legal judgment, enforceable under the Utah Rules of Civil Procedure. In addition, the department may, on behalf of the person in whose favor the restitution order is entered, enforce the restitution order as judgment creditor under the Utah Rules of Civil Procedure. (3) If the defendant fails to obey a court order for payment of restitution and the victim or department elects to pursue collection of the order by civil process, the victim shall be entitled to recover collection and reasonable attorney fees.
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Property liens | All | Yes |
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Utah | Utah Code Ann. § 77-18-6.5(2) | Liability of rescued person for costs of emergency response |
The judgment shall constitute a lien when recorded in the judgment docket and shall have the same effect and is subject to the same rules as a judgment for money + See morein a civil action.
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Property liens | All | Yes |
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Utah | Utah Code Ann. § 77-27-6 | Payment of restitution |
When the Board of Pardons and Parole orders the release on parole of an inmate who has been sentenced to make restitution pursuant to Title 77, Chapter 38a, Crime Victims + See moreRestitution Act, or whom the board has ordered to make restitution, and all or a portion of restitution is still owing, the board may establish a schedule, including both complete and court-ordered restitution, by which payment of the restitution shall be made
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Payment plan/installment plan | All | No |
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Utah | Utah Code Ann. § 76-3-201.1(b) | Collection of criminal judgments--installment plan |
Criminal judgment accounts receivable means any amount due the state arising from a criminal judgment for which payment has not been received by the state agency that is servicing the + See moredebt... The court may permit a defendant to pay a criminal judgment account receivable in installments.
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Payment plan/installment plan | All | No |
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Utah | Utah Code Ann. § 76-3-201.1 | Collection of criminal judgments--warrants |
When a defendant defaults in the payment of a criminal judgment account receivable or any installment of that receivable, the court, on motion of the prosecution, victim, or upon its + See moreown motion may: (a) order the defendant to appear and show cause why the default should not be treated as contempt of court; or (b) issue a warrant of arrest...(4)(a) Unless the defendant shows that the default was not attributable to an intentional refusal to obey the order of the court or to a failure to make a good faith effort to make the payment, the court may find that the default constitutes contempt. (b) Upon a finding of contempt, the court may order the defendant committed until the criminal judgment account receivable, or a specified part of it, is paid...(5) If it appears to the satisfaction of the court that the default is not contempt, the court may enter an order for any of the following or any combination of the following...(d) except as provided in Section 77-18-8[fines issued in addition to imprisonment or in lieu of imprisonment], execute the original sentence of imprisonment
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Incarceration | All | No |
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Utah | Utah Code Ann. § 76-3-201.1 | Collection of criminal judgments--collection of civil judgment |
Upon default in the payment of a criminal judgment account receivable or upon default in the payment of any installment of that receivable, the criminal judgment account receivable may be + See morecollected as provided in this section or Subsection 77-18-1(9) or (10), and by any means authorized by law for the collection of a civil judgment.
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Property liens | All | No |
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Utah | Utah Code Ann. § 76-3-201.1 | Collection of criminal judgments--compulsory service |
When a defendant defaults in the payment of a criminal judgment account receivable or any installment of that receivable, the court, on motion of the prosecution, victim, or upon its + See moreown motion may: (a) order the defendant to appear and show cause why the default should not be treated as contempt of court; or (b) issue a warrant of arrest... (5) If it appears to the satisfaction of the court that the default is not contempt, the court may enter an order for any of the following or any combination of the following...(f) except as limited by Subsection (6) [restitution], convert the criminal judgment account receivable or any part of it to compensatory service
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Community service | All | No |
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Utah | Utah Code Ann. § 76-3-201.1 | Collection of criminal judgments--reduce fines |
When a defendant defaults in the payment of a criminal judgment account receivable or any installment of that receivable, the court, on motion of the prosecution, victim, or upon its + See moreown motion may: (a) order the defendant to appear and show cause why the default should not be treated as contempt of court; or (b) issue a warrant of arrest...
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Incarceration | All | 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.