50-State Criminal Justice Debt Reform Builder Bringing transparency to areas of significant legal complexity.
Poverty Penalties and Poverty Traps
Keyword search across all of the laws in the states. Subject-area tabs above allow you to narrow results. Click the advanced search for further refinement.
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See all poverty penalty and poverty trap policy recommendations in CJPP’s Policy Guide
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- Civil judgment (6)
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- (-) Payment plan/installment plan (24)
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Level of Offense
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.
36 Results
| State | Statute | Description/Statute Name | Statutory language | Type of poverty penalty or poverty trap | Level of offense | Mandatory | |
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Missouri | Mo. Ann. Stat. § 600.090(2) | Determination of ability to pay all or part of representation costs--lien for reasonable value of services, procedure--deposit of funds collected |
If at any time, either during or after the disposition of his case, such defendant becomes financially able to meet all or some part of the cost of services rendered to him, he shall be required to reimburse the commission in such amounts as he can reasonably pay, either by a single payment or by installments of reasonable amounts, in accordance with a schedule of charges for public defender services prepared by the commission.
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Payment plan/installment plan | All | No |
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Missouri | Mo. Ann. Stat. § 600.090(2)(1) | Determination of ability to pay all or part of representation costs--lien for reasonable value of services, procedure--deposit of funds collected |
The reasonable value of the services rendered to a defendant pursuant to sections 600.011 to 600.048 and 600.086 to 600.096 may in all cases be a lien on any and all property to which the defendant shall have or acquire an interest. The public defender shall effectuate such lien whenever the reasonable value of the services rendered to a defendant appears to exceed one hundred fifty dollars and may effectuate such lien where the reasonable value of those services appears to be less than one hundred fifty dollars.
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Property liens | All | No |
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Missouri | Mo. Ann. Stat. § 558.004(4) | Imposition of fines |
When an offender is sentenced to pay a fine, the court may provide for the 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, the fine shall be payable forthwith.
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Payment plan/installment plan | All | Yes |
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Missouri | Mo. Ann. Stat. § 558.006(5) | Response to nonpayment |
Upon default in the payment of a fine or any installment thereof, the fine may be collected by any means authorized for the enforcement of money judgments. |
Incarceration, Property liens, Wage/bank account garnishment | All | No |
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Missouri | Mo. Ann. Stat. § 546.86 | All property bound for fine and costs |
The property, real and personal, of any person charged with a criminal offense, shall be bound from the time of his final conviction of such offense, for the payment of all fines and costs which he may be adjudged to pay.
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Property liens | All | No |
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Ohio | Ohio Rev. Code § 2949.15 | Writs of execution to issue |
If a nonindigent person convicted of a felony fails to pay the costs of prosecution pursuant to section 2949.14 of the Revised Code, the clerk of the court of common pleas shall forthwith issue to the sheriff of the county in which the indictment was found, and to the sheriff of any other county in which the person has property, executions against his property for fines and the costs of prosecution, which shall be served and returned within ten days, with the proceedings of such sheriff or the certification that there is no property upon which to levy, indorsed thereon. When a levy is made upon property under such execution, a writ shall forthwith be issued by the clerk for the sale thereof, and such sheriff shall sell the property and make return thereof, and after paying the costs of conviction, execution, and sale, pay the balance to the person authorized to receive it.
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Property liens | All | Yes |
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Ohio | Ohio Rev. Code § 2949.09 | Execution for fine and costs |
When a judge or magistrate renders judgment for a fine, an execution may issue for such judgment and costs of prosecution, to be levied on the property, or in default thereof, upon the body of the defendant for nonpayment of the fine. The officer holding such writ may arrest such defendant in any county and commit him to the jail of the county in which such writ issued, until such fine is paid or secured to be paid or he is otherwise legally discharged.
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Property liens | All | No |
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Ohio | Ohio Rev. Code § 2929.28(G)(3) | Financial sanctions; court costs |
(G) Each court imposing a financial sanction upon an offender under this section may designate the clerk of the court or another person to collect the financial sanction. The clerk, or another person authorized by law or the court to collect the financial sanction may do the following: (3) To defray administrative costs, charge a reasonable fee to an offender who elects a payment plan rather than a lump sum payment of any financial sanction.
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Increased fine, Payment plan/installment plan | Misdemeanor | No |
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Ohio | Ohio Rev. Code § 2947.23(C) | Judgment for costs and jury fees |
The court retains jurisdiction to waive, suspend, or modify the payment of the costs of prosecution, including any costs under section 2947.231 of the Revised Code, at the time of sentencing or at any time thereafter.
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Payment plan/installment plan | All | No |
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Ohio | Ohio Rev. Code § 2929.18(D)(2)(a) | Financial sanctions; restitution; reimbursements |
. . . Once the financial sanction is imposed as a judgment or order under this division, the victim, private provider, state, or political subdivision may do any of the following: (a) An execution against the property of the judgment debtor under Chapter 2329. of the Revised Code.
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Property liens | Felony | No |
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Ohio | Ohio Rev. Code § 2929.18(D)(2)(d) | Financial sanctions; restitution; reimbursements. |
. . . Once the financial sanction is imposed as a judgment or order under this division, the victim, private provider, state, or political subdivision may do any of the following: (d) The attachment of the property of the judgment debtor under Chapter 2715. of the Revised Code;
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Property liens | Felony | No |
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Ohio | Ohio Rev. Code § 2929.18(D)(2)(e) | Financial sanctions; restitution; reimbursements. |
. . . Once the financial sanction is imposed as a judgment or order under this division, the victim, private provider, state, or political subdivision may do any of the following: (e) The garnishment of the property of the judgment debtor under Chapter 2716. of the Revised Code.
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Property liens, Wage/bank account garnishment | Felony | No |
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Ohio | Ohio Rev. Code § 1901.44(A)(2) | Community service in lieu of court costs; failure to pay |
Notwithstanding any other provision of the Revised Code, if at the time of sentencing or at any time after sentencing a municipal court finds that a person who is found guilty of an offense will not be able to pay costs in full when they are due, the court may order the offender to pay the costs in installments according to a schedule set by the court.
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Payment plan/installment plan | All | No |
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Ohio | Ohio Rev. Code § 2929.37(B)(1) | Policy requiring prisoner to pay costs of confinement |
Each prisoner covered by a repayment policy adopted as described in division (A) of this section shall receive at the end of the prisoner's confinement an itemized bill of the expenses to be reimbursed. The policy shall allow periodic payments on a schedule to be implemented upon a prisoner's release.
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Payment plan/installment plan | All | Yes |
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Ohio | Ohio Rev. Code § 1907.25(A)(2) | Community service in lieu of court costs; failure to pay |
Notwithstanding any other provision of the Revised Code, if at the time of sentencing or at any time after sentencing a county court finds that a person who is found guilty of an offense will not be able to pay costs in full when they are due, the court may order the offender to pay the costs in installments according to a schedule set by the court.
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Payment plan/installment plan | All | No |
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Washington | Wash. Rev. Code Ann. § 9.94B.040(1),(4) | Conversion of fine to community service (for crimes committed before July 1, 2000) |
(1) If an offender violates any condition or requirement of a sentence, the court may modify its order of judgment and sentence and impose further punishment in accordance with this section. (4) If the violation involves failure to pay legal financial obligations, the following provisions apply: (a) The department and the offender may enter into a stipulated agreement that the failure to pay was willful noncompliance, according to the provisions and requirements of subsection (3)(a) of this section; (b) In the absence of a stipulated agreement, or where the court is not satisfied with the department’s sanctions as provided in a stipulated agreement under (a) of this subsection, the court, upon the motion of the state, or upon its own motion, shall require the offender to show cause why the offender should not be punished for the noncompliance. The court may issue a summons or a warrant of arrest for the offender’s appearance; (c) The state has the burden of showing noncompliance by a preponderance of the evidence. The court may not sanction the offender for failure to pay legal financial obligations unless the court finds, after a hearing and on the record, that the failure to pay is willful. A failure to pay is willful if the offender has the current ability to pay but refuses to do so. In determining whether the offender has the current ability to pay, the court shall inquire into and consider: (i) The offender’s income and assets; (ii) the offender’s basic living costs as defined by RCW 10.101.010 and other liabilities including child support and other legal financial obligations; and (iii) the offender’s bona fide efforts to acquire additional resources. An offender who is indigent as defined by RCW 10.101.010(3) (a) through (c) is presumed to lack the current ability to pay; (d) If the court determines that the offender is homeless or a person who is mentally ill, as defined in RCW 71.24.025, failure to pay a legal financial obligation is not willful noncompliance and shall not subject the offender to penalties; (e) If the court finds that the failure to pay is willful noncompliance, the court may order the offender to be confined for a period not to exceed sixty days for each violation or order one or more of the penalties authorized in subsection (3)(a)(i) of this section; and (f) If the court finds that the violation was not willful, the court may, and if the court finds that the defendant is indigent as defined in RCW 10.101.010(3) (a) through (c), the court shall modify the terms of payment of the legal financial obligations, reduce or waive nonrestitution legal financial obligations, or convert nonrestitution legal financial obligations to community restitution hours, if the jurisdiction operates a community restitution program, at the rate of no less than the state minimum wage established in RCW 49.46.020 for each hour of community restitution. The crime victim penalty assessment under RCW 7.68.035 may not be reduced, waived, or converted to community restitution hours.
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Community service, Incarceration, Payment plan/installment plan | All | No |
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Washington | Wash. Rev. Code Ann. § 10.82.010 | Execution for fines and costs |
Upon a judgment for fine and costs, and for all adjudged costs, execution shall be issued against the property of the defendant, and returned in the same manner as in civil actions.
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Property liens | All | No |
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Washington | Wash. Rev. Code Ann. § 10.01.170 | Fine or costs--Payment within specified time or installments |
When a defendant is sentenced to pay a fine or costs, the court may grant permission for payment to be made within a specified period of time or in specified installments.
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Payment plan/installment plan | All | No |
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Washington | Wash. Rev. Code Ann. § 7.68.120(2) | Reimbursement — Restitution to victim — Notice — Fees — Order to withhold and deliver — Limitation |
(2) (a) The department may issue a notice of debt due and owing to the person found to have committed the criminal act, and shall serve the notice on the person in the manner prescribed for the service of a summons in a civil action or by certified mail. The department shall file the notice of debt due and owing along with proof of service with the superior court of the county where the criminal act took place. The person served the notice shall have thirty days from the date of service to respond to the notice by requesting a hearing in superior court.
(b) If a person served a notice of debt due and owing fails to respond within thirty days, the department may seek a default judgment. Upon entry of a judgment in an action brought pursuant to (a) of this subsection, the clerk shall enter the order in the execution docket. The filing fee shall be added to the amount of the debt indicated in the judgment. The judgment shall become a lien upon all real and personal property of the person named in the judgment as in other civil cases. The judgment shall be subject to execution, garnishment, or other procedures for collection of a judgment. |
Civil judgment, Property liens, Wage/bank account garnishment | All | No |
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Washington | Wash. Rev. Code Ann. § 10.01.180(1),(3)-(5) | Fine or costs — Default in payment — Contempt of court — Enforcement, collection procedures |
(1) A defendant sentenced to pay any fine, penalty, assessment, fee, or costs who willfully defaults in the payment thereof or of any installment is in contempt of court as provided in chapter 7.21 RCW. The court may issue a warrant of arrest for his or her appearance.
(3) (a) The court shall not sanction a defendant for contempt based on failure to pay fines, penalties, assessments, fees, or costs unless the court finds, after a hearing and on the record, that the failure to pay is willful. A failure to pay is willful if the defendant has the current ability to pay but refuses to do so. (b) In determining whether the defendant has the current ability to pay, the court shall inquire into and consider: (i) The defendant’s income and assets; (ii) the defendant’s basic living costs as defined by RCW 10.101.010 and other liabilities including child support and other legal financial obligations; and (iii) the defendant’s bona fide efforts to acquire additional resources. A defendant who is indigent as defined by RCW 10.101.010(3) (a) through (c) is presumed to lack the current ability to pay. (c) If the court determines that the defendant is homeless or a person who is mentally ill, as defined in RCW 71.24.025, failure to pay a legal financial obligation is not willful contempt and shall not subject the defendant to penalties. (4) If a term of imprisonment for contempt for nonpayment of any fine, penalty, assessment, fee, or costs is ordered, the term of imprisonment shall be set forth in the commitment order, and shall not exceed one day for each twenty-five dollars of the amount ordered, thirty days if the amount ordered of costs was imposed upon conviction of a violation or misdemeanor, or one year in any other case, whichever is the shorter period. A person committed for nonpayment of any fine, penalty, assessment, fee, or costs shall be given credit toward payment for each day of imprisonment at the rate specified in the commitment order. (5) If it appears to the satisfaction of the court that the default in the payment of any fine, penalty, assessment, fee, or costs is not willful contempt, the court may, and if the defendant is indigent as defined in RCW 10.101.010(3) (a) through (c), the court shall enter an order: (a) Allowing the defendant additional time for payment; (b) reducing the amount thereof or of each installment; (c) revoking the fine, penalty, assessment, fee, or costs or the unpaid portion thereof in whole or in part; or (d) converting the unpaid fine, penalty, assessment, fee, or costs to community restitution hours, if the jurisdiction operates a community restitution program, at the rate of no less than the state minimum wage established in RCW 49.46.020 for each hour of community restitution. The crime victim penalty assessment under RCW 7.68.035 may not be reduced, revoked, or converted to community restitution hours. |
Incarceration, Payment plan/installment plan | 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.