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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
Add to Dashboard + Create New	Maine	Me. Rev. Stat. tit 4 § 7	General jurisdiction; control of records	The Supreme Judicial Court may exercise its jurisdiction according to the common law not inconsistent with the Constitution or any statute, and may punish contempts against its authority by fine + See more and imprisonment, or either, and administer oaths.	Incarceration	All	No
Add to Dashboard + Create New	Maine	Me. Rev. Stat. tit 17-A § 1854(2)(A)	Requirements of administrative release	2. Discretionary requirements. In addition to the requirements in subsection 1, the court in its sentence may require the person: A. To pay to the appropriate county an administrative supervision fee of not + See more more than $50 per month, as determined by the court, for the term of the administrative release. In determining the amount of the fee, the court shall take into account the financial resources of the person and the nature of the burden its payment imposes. When a person fails to pay the administrative supervision fee, the court may revoke administrative release as provided in sections 1855 and 1856 unless the person shows that failure to pay was not attributable to a willful refusal to pay or to a failure on that person's part to make a good faith effort to obtain the funds required for the payment.	Incarceration	All	No
Add to Dashboard + Create New	Massachusetts	Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 276, § 31	Default Warrant for Failure to Pay — Additional Fees — Payment to Court's Administrative Office.	Whenever a court issues a default warrant solely due to the person’s failure to pay a fine, assessment, court cost, restitution, support payment or other amount as ordered by the + See more court or required by law, the court shall specify the amount owed, including an additional assessment of $50 which assessment may be waived by the court upon a finding of good cause or upon a finding that such an assessment would cause a substantial financial hardship to the person, the person’s immediate family or the person’s dependents, with a statement that the warrant against the person may be discharged upon payment of the amount and the assessment, if any, and shall note the same in the warrant management system. The administrative office of the trial court shall accept payment of such fine, assessment, court cost, restitution, support payment or other amount as ordered by the court, along with any assessment, to be remitted by mail, telephone or other electronic means, in any form deemed acceptable by the trial court. Upon receipt of payment, the warrant against the person shall be discharged, the discharge shall be noted in the warrant management system and the individual shall receive notice of the discharge within seven days.	Incarceration, Increased fine	All	Yes
Add to Dashboard + Create New	Massachusetts	Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 276, § 32	Default Warrant for Failure to Pay — Additional Fees — Payment of Person Before Court.	Whenever a person, brought before a court, against whom an outstanding warrant was issued, solely due to the failure of the person brought before the court to pay a fine + See more assessment, court cost, restitution, support payment, or other amount, the court may accept payment of such amount and assess an additional fifty dollars which assessment may be waived by the court upon a finding of good cause and if the person is not being held on other process, the court may direct that the person be released from custody and shall notify the jurisdiction in which the warrant was issued of the payment and the assessment, if any. Upon notice of the release the court that issued the warrant shall recall the warrant and cause such information to be entered in the warrant management system.	Incarceration, Increased fine	All	No
Add to Dashboard + Create New	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 more own 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	Incarceration	All	No
Add to Dashboard + Create New	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 more own 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...	Incarceration	All	No
Add to Dashboard + Create New	Utah	Utah Code Ann. § 77-32a-10	Imprisonment for contempt	The term of imprisonment for contempt for nonpayment of costs shall be set forth in the commitment order, and shall not exceed one day for each $25 of the costs, + See more 30 days if the costs were imposed upon conviction of a misdemeanor, or six months in the case of a felony, whichever is the shorter period. A person committed for nonpayment of costs shall be given credit toward payment for each day of imprisonment at the rate specified in the commitment order.	Incarceration	All	Yes
Add to Dashboard + Create New	Wyoming	Wyo. Stat. Ann. § 6-10-105	Commitment for refusal to pay fine or costs; rate per day	A person committed to jail for willfully refusing to pay a fine or costs may be imprisoned if the court determines that the defendant has an ability to pay or + See more that a reasonable probability exists that the defendant will have an ability to pay, until the imprisonment, at the rate of fifteen dollars ($15.00) per day, equals the amount of the fine or costs, or the amount shall be paid or secured to be paid when he is discharged.	Incarceration	All	No
Add to Dashboard + Create New	Wyoming	Wyo. Stat. Ann. § 7-11-504	Commitment until fine and costs paid	If a defendant sentenced to pay a fine or costs defaults in payment, the court may order the defendant to show cause why he should not be committed to jail. + See more If the court finds that the defendant's default is willful or is due to a failure on defendant's part to make a good faith effort to obtain the funds required for the payment and the court determines that the defendant has an ability to pay or that a reasonable probability exists that the defendant will have an ability to pay, the court may order him committed until the fine or costs, or a specified part thereof, is paid. The defendant shall be given a credit for each day of imprisonment at the rate provided by W.S. 6 10 105, and may earn additional credits against his fine or costs for work performed as provided by W.S. 7 16 101 through 7 16 104.	Incarceration	All	No
Add to Dashboard + Create New	Wyoming	Wyo. R. Crim. P. 46.4(c)	Sanctions for Failure to Appear or for Violation of Release Order	(c) Violation of release condition. A person who has been released under Rule 46.1, 46.2, or Rule 46.3 and who has violated a condition of that release, is subject to + See more a revocation of release and a prosecution for contempt of court.	Incarceration	All	No

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