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.
8 Results
| State | Statute | Description/Statute Name | Statutory language | Type of poverty penalty or poverty trap | Level of offense | Mandatory | |
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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 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.
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Incarceration, Increased fine | All | Yes |
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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 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.
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Incarceration, Increased fine | All | No |
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Massachusetts | Ma. Dist./Mun. Ct. R. Prob. Violation Rule 8(d) | Finding and disposition |
After the court has entered a finding that a violation of probation has occurred, the court may order any of the following dispositions set forth below, as it deems appropriate. These dispositional alternatives shall be the exclusive options available to the court. The court shall proceed to determine disposition promptly following the entry of a finding of violation. General continuances are prohibited. Awaiting the disposition of an underlying criminal charge shall not constitute such good cause for any continuance. In determining its disposition, the court shall give such weight as it may deem appropriate to the recommendation of the Probation Department, the probationer, and the District Attorney, if any, and to such factors as public safety; the circumstances of any crime for which the probationer was placed on probation; the nature of the probation violation; the occurrence of any previous violations; and the impact of the underlying crime on any person or community, as well as any mitigating factors.
(i) Continuance of Probation. The court may decline to modify or revoke probation and, instead, issue to the probationer such admonition or instruction as it may deem appropriate. (ii) Termination. The court may terminate the probation order. (iii) Modification. The court may modify the conditions of probation. Such modification may include the addition of reasonable conditions and the extension of the duration of the probation order. (iv) Revocation, statement of reasons. The court may order that the order of probation be revoked. If the court orders revocation, it shall state the reasons therefor in writing. |
Condition or extension of supervision | All | No |
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New Hampshire | N.H. Rev. Stat. § 604-A:9(I) | Repayment |
The state may collect from the defendant a service charge of up to 10 percent of the total amount of fees and expenses owed by such defendant. |
Collection fee/interest | All | No |
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New Hampshire | N.H. Rev. Stat. Ann. § 263:56-a | Suspension or Revocation for Default, Noncompliance, or Nonpayment of Fine |
Whenever any defendant: . . . (b) Fails to pay a fine or other penalty imposed in connection with a conviction of any offense which a court has determined he is able to pay, or issues a bad check in payment of a fine or other penalty; or (c) Fails to comply with a similar order of the director or a court on any matter within the director's or court's jurisdiction, his driver's license or resident or nonresident driving privilege and in any motor vehicle case or related case the resident plates and motor vehicle registration shall be suspended or revoked only upon written consent of the director, effective 30 days after such default or failure, except as provided in subparagraph I(d) of this section.
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Driver's license suspension/impoundment | Traffic | No |
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New Hampshire | N.H. Rev. Stat. § 504-A:13(I) | Supervision and Service Charges |
The court shall establish a supervision fee for probationers, and the parole board shall establish a supervision fee for parolees. The fee shall not be less than $40 a month, unless waived in whole or in part by the court, board or commissioner, and may be any greater amount as established by the court or board. This fee shall be considered a condition of release, and failure to satisfy this obligation shall be grounds for a violation hearing, unless the probationer or parolee has been found to be indigent and, for that reason, unable to pay the fee. Service charges for collection of fines and fees, other than supervision fees, shall be established at 10 percent of the funds collected.
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Collection fee/interest, Condition or extension of supervision | All | Yes |
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New Hampshire | N.H. Rev. Stat. Ann. § 651:22 | Jurisdiction Over and Disposition of Wages and Income |
In any criminal case, in addition to such other terms and conditions as may be imposed by the court, a defendant who has received a suspended sentence or who has been released under RSA 651:19 may be required by the court to surrender to the department of corrections or other agency designated by the court all or part of his wages or other income, less standard payroll deduction required by law, earned during the time he is not confined under the sentence. The court may direct that, after deducting therefrom the cost of his maintenance while not confined, the balance be applied as needed for restitution payments made to authorized claimants pursuant to RSA 651:62 through 66 and for the support and maintenance of his dependents. Any balance after such applications shall be deposited in a savings account to be released to him or applied as needed for restitution payments or the support of his dependents as the court may order, or applied to the designated cost of room and board at the institution for the period of time during which the inmate is working before the expiration of his sentence. Upon expiration of his sentence the balance remaining shall be paid to him or his order.
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Wage/bank account garnishment | All | No |
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New Hampshire | N.H. Rev. Stat. § 604-A:9(III) | Adequate Representation for Indigent Defendants in Criminal Cases: Repayment |
If any repayment ordered pursuant to paragraph I becomes overdue, the court having originally appointed counsel may order any employer of a former defendant to deduct from that person's wages or salary the appropriate amount due and to pay such amount to the appropriate department as determined under paragraph I, which shall refund such amount to the state, provided that no money, rights, or credits listed in RSA 512:21 shall be subject to deduction.
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Wage/bank account garnishment | 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.