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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	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	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. + See more 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
Add to Dashboard + Create New	South Dakota	S.D. Codified Laws § 32-35-60	Installment payments	A judgment debtor upon due notice to the judgment creditor may apply to the court in which such judgment was rendered for the privilege of paying such judgment in installments + See more and the court, in its discretion and without prejudice to any other legal remedies which the judgment creditor may have, may so order and fix the amounts and times of payment of the installments.	Payment plan/installment plan	All	No
Add to Dashboard + Create New	South Dakota	S.D. Codified Laws § 32-35-62	Failure to pay installments--Suspension of licenses.	In the event the judgment debtor referred to in § 32-35-61 fails to pay any installment as specified by such order, then upon notice of such default, the Department of + See more Public Safety shall forthwith suspend the license or nonresident's operating privilege and the Department of Revenue shall forthwith suspend the registration of the judgment debtor until such judgment is satisfied, as provided in this chapter.	Driver's license suspension/impoundment	All	Yes
Add to Dashboard + Create New	South Dakota	S.D. Codified Laws § 32-35-52	Suspension of license for failure to pay judgment	The Department of Public Safety upon receipt of a certified copy of a judgment shall forthwith suspend the license and any nonresident's operating privilege and the Department of Revenue shall + See more forthwith suspend the registration of any person against whom such judgment was rendered except as provided in §§ 32-35-53 to 32-35-56, inclusive.	Driver's license suspension/impoundment	All	No
Add to Dashboard + Create New	South Dakota	S.D. Codified Laws § 32-35-57	Length of suspension pursuant to Section 32-35-52	A license, registration, and nonresident's operating privilege suspended pursuant to § 32-35-52 shall remain so suspended and shall not be renewed, nor shall any such license or registration be thereafter + See more issued in the name of such person, including any such person not previously licensed, unless and until every such judgment is stayed, satisfied in full, or to the extent provided in § 32-35-59, and until the said person gives proof of financial responsibility subject to the exemptions stated in §§ 32-35-54, 32-35-55, and 32-35-61.	Driver's license suspension/impoundment	All	Yes
Add to Dashboard + Create New	South Dakota	S.D. Codified Laws § 216-15-7	Resistance to judicial process as misdemeanorEvery person guilty of any contempt of court by intentional disobedience of any process or order lawfully issued by any court is guilty of a + See more Class 2 misdemeanor.	Every person guilty of any contempt of court by intentional disobedience of any process or order lawfully issued by any court is guilty of a Class 2 misdemeanor.	Incarceration	All	No
Add to Dashboard + Create New	South Dakota	S.D. Codified Laws § 223A-27-18.3	Conditions required on probation or suspension of sentence	The conditions of probation imposed pursuant to § 23A-27-12 or 23A-27-13 or the conditions of a suspension of execution imposed pursuant to § 23A-27-18 may provide in addition to any + See more other conditions, as an explicit condition of probation, suspended imposition of sentence, or suspended execution of sentence that the defendant: (1) Pay a fine or perform community service work as directed by the court; or (2) Receive treatment for chemical dependency at any South Dakota treatment facility accredited pursuant to § 34-20A-27 and reimburse the county for costs of treatment ordered by the court; or (3) Make restitution pursuant to the provisions of chapter 23A-28.	Condition or extension of supervision	All	No
Add to Dashboard + Create New	South Dakota	S.D. Codified Laws § 223A-27-25.5	Hearing required prior to imprisonment or jailing for failure to pay fine, costs, and restitution--Burden of proof--Computation of time to be served	No defendant may be imprisoned or jailed for failure to pay a fine, costs, or restitution or have any suspended prison or jail sentence revoked without a prior hearing. At + See more the hearing, the defendant has the burden of proof to establish to the reasonable satisfaction of the magistrate or circuit judge that the defendant did not willfully fail to pay the fine, costs, or restitution or that the defendant did make a bona fide effort to pay the fine, costs, or restitution. Failure by the defendant to make such a showing is grounds for being imprisoned or jailed. If the sentence provided for payment of fine or costs only, the term of jail or imprisonment may be no longer than the number of days equal to the total amount of the fine or costs imposed divided by sixty. For purposes of making this computation, any fraction of less than one day shall be dropped from the term of imprisonment. In no event may such imprisonment for failure to pay the fine, costs, and restitution together with all other time served or to be served exceed the maximum allowed by statute. If the defendant establishes that nonpayment was not willful or that the defendant did make a bona fide effort to pay, the defendant may not be imprisoned or jailed for nonpayment. The magistrate or circuit judge shall consider other alternatives which take into account the state's interest in punishment and deterrence. The court shall make findings in its decision.	Incarceration	All	No

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