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
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Nebraska Neb. Rev. Stat. § 29-2206(1) Fine and costs; commitment until paid; installments; deduction from bond; suspension or revocation of motor vehicle operator’s license.

(1)(a) In all cases in which courts or magistrates have now or may hereafter have the power to punish offenses, either in whole or in part, by requiring the offender

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to pay fines or costs, or both, such courts or magistrates may make it a part of the sentence that the party stand committed and be imprisoned in the jail of the proper county until the fines or costs are paid or secured to be paid or the offender is otherwise discharged according to law if the court or magistrate determines that the offender has the financial ability to pay such fines or costs.

Incarceration All No
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Nebraska Neb. Rev. Stat. § 29-2206(2) Fine and costs; commitment until paid; installments; deduction from bond; suspension or revocation of motor vehicle operator’s license

(2) If the court or magistrate determines, pursuant to subsection (1) of this section, that an offender is financially unable to pay such fines or costs in one lump sum but

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is financially capable of paying in installments, the court or magistrate shall make arrangements suitable to the court or magistrate and to the offender by which the offender may pay in installments. The court or magistrate shall enter an order specifying the terms of such arrangements and the dates on which payments are to be made. When the judgment of conviction provides for the suspension or revocation of a motor vehicle operator’s license and the court authorizes the payment of fines or costs by installments, the revocation or suspension shall be effective as of the date of judgment.

Payment plan/installment plan All Yes
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Nebraska Neb. Rev. Stat. § 29-2206(3) Alternative to lump sum/installment payments

As an alternative to a lump-sum payment or as an alternative or in conjunction with installment payments, the court or magistrate may deduct fines or costs from a bond posted

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by the offender to the extent that such bond is not otherwise encumbered by a valid lien, levy, execution, or assignment to counsel of record or the person who posted the bond.

Other All No
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Nebraska Neb. Rev. Stat. § 29-2206.01 Fine and costs; payment of installments; violation; penalty

Installments provided for in section 29-2206 shall be paid pursuant to the order entered by the court or magistrate. Any person who fails to comply with the terms of such order shall

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be liable for punishment for contempt, unless such person has the leave of the court or magistrate in regard to such noncompliance or such person requests a hearing pursuant to section 29-2412 and establishes at such hearing that he or she is financially unable to pay.

Incarceration, Increased fine All Yes
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Nebraska Neb. Rev. Stat. § 29-2412 (3) Fine and costs; nonpayment; commutation upon confinement; credit; amount

(1) (a) Any person arrested and brought into custody on a warrant for failure to pay fines or costs, for failure to appear before a court or magistrate on the due date

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of such fines or costs, or for failure to comply with the terms of an order pursuant to sections 29-2206 and 29-2206.01, shall be entitled to a hearing on the first regularly scheduled court date following the date of arrest.

(b) If the court or magistrate determines that the person is financially able to pay the fines or costs and the person refuses to pay, the court or magistrate may: (i) Order the person to be confined in the jail of the proper county until the fines or costs are paid or secured to be paid or the person is otherwise discharged pursuant to subsection (4) of this section; or (ii) Enter an order pursuant to subdivision (1)(d) of this section discharging the person of such fines or costs and order the person to complete community service for a specified number of hours pursuant to sections 29-2277 to 29-2279;

(3) Nothing in this section shall authorize any person to be discharged from imprisonment before the expiration of the time for which he or she may be sentenced to be imprisoned as part of his or her punishment

(4) (a) Any person held in custody for nonpayment of fines or costs or for default on an installment shall be entitled to a credit on the fines, costs, or installment of one hundred fifty dollars for each day so held.

(b) In no case shall a person held in custody for nonpayment of fines or costs be held in such custody for more days than the maximum number to which he or she could have been sentenced if the penalty set by law includes the possibility of confinement.

Community service, Incarceration All No
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Nebraska Neb. Rev. Stat. § 29-2404 Misdemeanor cases; fines and costs; judgment; levy; commitment

In all cases of misdemeanor in which courts or magistrates shall have power to fine any offender, and shall render judgment for such fine, it shall be lawful to issue

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executions for the same, with the costs taxed against the offender, to be levied on the goods and chattels of any such offender, and, for want of the same, upon the body of the offender, who shall, following a determination that the offender has the financial ability to pay such fine pursuant to section 29-2412, be committed to the jail of the proper county until the fine and costs be paid, or secured to be paid, or the offender be otherwise discharged according to law.

Collection fee/interest, Incarceration Misdemeanor Yes
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Nebraska (2)Neb. Rev. Stat. § 28-1011 Violations; liability for expenses

Even if reimbursement for expenses is not ordered under subsection (1) of this section, the defendant shall be liable for all unreimbursed expenses incurred by a public or private agency

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in conjunction with the care, impoundment, seizure, or disposal of an animal. The expenses shall be a lien upon the animal.

Property liens All No
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Nebraska Neb. Rev. Stat. § 29-2262(2)(l)-(m),(s)-(t) Probation; conditions

(2) The court may, as a condition of a sentence of probation, require the offender:
(l) To pay a fine in one or more payments as ordered;
(m) To pay

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for tests to determine the presence of drugs or alcohol, psychological evaluations, offender assessment screens, and rehabilitative services required in the identification, evaluation, and treatment of offenders if such offender has the financial ability to pay for such services;
(s) To make restitution as described in sections 29-2280 and 29-2281; or
(t) To pay for all costs imposed by the court, including court costs and the fees imposed pursuant to section 29-2262.06.

Condition or extension of supervision All No
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Nebraska Neb. Rev. Stat. § 29-2262.06(1),(5) Fees; waiver; when; failure to pay; effect

(1) Except as otherwise provided in this section, whenever a district court or county court sentences an adult offender to probation, the court shall require the probationer to pay a

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one-time administrative enrollment fee and thereafter a monthly probation programming fee.
(5) If a probationer defaults in the payment of monthly probation programming fees or any installment thereof, the court may revoke his or her probation for nonpayment, except that probation shall not be revoked nor shall the offender be imprisoned for such nonpayment if the probationer is financially unable to make the payment, if he or she so states to the court in writing under oath, and if the court so finds after a hearing.

Condition or extension of supervision All No
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Oklahoma Okla. Stat. tit. 22, § 1355.14D Payment of costs of representation--Fee schedule
Any order directing the defendant to pay costs of representation shall be a lien against all real and personal property of the defendant and may be filed against such property
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and foreclosed as provided by law for civil liens.
Property liens All Yes
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Oklahoma Okla. Stat. tit. 22, § 1355.14A Payment of costs of representation--Fee schedule
At the time of pronouncing the judgment and sentence or other final order, the court shall order any person represented by an attorney employed by the Oklahoma Indigent Defense System
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or a defense attorney who contracts or volunteers to represent indigents pursuant to the provisions of the Indigent Defense Act to pay the costs for representation in total or in installments and, in the case of installment payments, set the amount and due date of each installment.
Payment plan/installment plan All No
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Oklahoma Okla. Stat. tit. 10A, § 1-4-701B Reimbursements and costs by parents able to pay
The court may order the terms and conditions of the payment of costs and expenses described in subsection A of this section. When any parent is financially able but has
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willfully failed to pay the costs and reimbursements as ordered by the court pursuant to this section, the parent may be held in indirect contempt of court and, upon conviction, shall be punished pursuant to Section 566 of Title 21 of the Oklahoma Statutes.
Increased fine All No
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Oklahoma Okla. Stat. tit. 22, § 979a Payment of jail costs by inmate
The sheriff, municipality or other public entity responsible for the operation of the jail may collect costs of incarceration ordered by the court from the jail account of the inmate.
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If the funds collected from the jail account of the inmate are insufficient to satisfy the actual incarceration costs ordered by the court, the sheriff, municipality or other public entity responsible for the operation of the jail is authorized to collect the remaining balance of the incarceration costs by civil action.
Wage/bank account garnishment All No
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Oklahoma 22 Okl.St.Ann. § 456A Bench warrant, fee for issuance of
For the issuance of each bench warrant for a defendant's failure to pay court costs, fines, fees, or assessments in felony, misdemeanor, or traffic cases, the court clerk shall charge
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and collect a fee of Five Dollars ($5.00). The fee shall be included in the execution bond amount on the face of the bench warrant which is issued for the defendant's failure to pay and shall be in addition to the delinquent amount owed by the defendant. This fee shall be deposited in the court clerk's revolving fund pursuant to the provisions of Section 220 of Title 19 of the Oklahoma Statutes.
Collection fee/interest All Yes
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Oklahoma 22 Okl.St.Ann. § 966A Bench warrant, fee for issuance of
For the issuance of each bench warrant for a defendant's failure to pay court costs, fines, fees, or assessments in felony, misdemeanor, or traffic cases, the court clerk shall charge
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and collect a fee of Five Dollars ($5.00). The fee shall be included in the execution bond amount on the face of the bench warrant which is issued for the defendant's failure to pay and shall be in addition to the delinquent amount owed by the defendant. This fee shall be deposited in the court clerk's revolving fund pursuant to the provisions of Section 220 of Title 19 of the Oklahoma Statutes.
Collection fee/interest All Yes
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Oklahoma 22 Okl.St.Ann. § 983A Imprisonment or recommendation of suspension of driving privileges for failure to pay fines, costs, fees, or assessments--Hearing--Installments
Any defendant found guilty of an offense in any court of this state may be imprisoned for nonpayment of the fine, cost, fee, or assessment when the trial court finds
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after notice and hearing that the defendant is financially able but refuses or neglects to pay the fine, cost, fee, or assessment. A sentence to pay a fine, cost, fee, or assessment may be converted into a jail sentence only after a hearing and a judicial determination, memorialized of record, that the defendant is able to satisfy the fine, cost, fee, or assessment by payment, but refuses or neglects so to do.
Incarceration All No
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Oklahoma 22 Okl.St.Ann. § 983B Imprisonment or recommendation of suspension of driving privileges for failure to pay fines, costs, fees, or assessments--Hearing--Installments
After a judicial determination that the defendant is able to pay the fine, cost, fee, or assessment in installments, the court may order the fine, cost, fee, or assessment to
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be paid in installments and shall set the amount and date for each installment.
Payment plan/installment plan All No
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Oklahoma 22 Okl.St.Ann. § 983C Imprisonment or recommendation of suspension of driving privileges for failure to pay fines, costs, fees, or assessments--Hearing--Installments
In addition, the district court or municipal court, within one hundred twenty (120) days from the date upon which the person was originally ordered to make payment, may send notice
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of nonpayment of any court ordered fine and costs for a moving traffic violation to the Department of Public Safety with a recommendation of suspension of driving privileges of the defendant until the total amount of any fine and costs has been paid. Upon receipt of payment of the total amount of the fine and costs for the moving traffic violation, the court shall send notice thereof to the Department, if a nonpayment notice was sent as provided for in this subsection. Notices sent to the Department shall be on forms or by a method approved by the Department.
Driver's license suspension/impoundment Traffic No
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Oklahoma 11 Okl.St.Ann. § 14-111 Enforcement and penalties for violation of municipal ordinances
The governing body may provide that any person fined for violation of a municipal ordinance who is financially able but refuses or neglects to pay the fine or costs may
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be compelled to satisfy the amount owed by working on the streets, alleys, avenues, areas, and public grounds of the municipality, subject to the direction of the street commissioner or other proper officer, at a rate per day as the governing body may prescribe by ordinance, but not less than Fifty Dollars ($50.00) per day for useful labor, until the fine or costs are satisfied.
Work program/jail industry program Misdemeanor No
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Oklahoma 28 Okl.St.Ann. § 101 Fees and costs in criminal cases part of penalty--Enforcement by imprisonment--Persons unable to pay
The fees herein provided for the clerk of the district court and the sheriff, as provided in this act, and all costs in the prosecution of all criminal actions shall,
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in case of conviction of the defendant, be adjudged a part of the penalty of the offense of which the defendant may be convicted, whether the punishment for such offense be either imprisonment, or fine, or both, and fixed either by the verdict of the jury, or judgment of the court, trying the case, and if the defendant shall refuse to pay the fine, fees or costs, the payment of such fees and costs, in addition to the payment of the fine assessed, shall be enforced by imprisonment until the same shall be satisfied at a rate of Twenty-five Dollars ($25.00) per day of such fees and costs, or fine, or both, or shall be satisfied at a rate of Fifty Dollars ($50.00) per day of such fees and costs, or fine, or both, should the defendant perform useful labor. If the defendant is without means to pay the fine, fees or costs, the total amount owed shall be entered upon the judgment docket and thereupon the same remedies shall be available for the enforcement of said judgment as are available to any other judgment creditor.The term “all costs in the prosecution of all criminal actions”, as used in this section, shall include only the following taxable items: 1. Court clerk's costs and fees authorized by statute; 2. Sheriff's fees; 3. Fees and mileage of witnesses; and 4. Cost deposits in the appellate court, whether on appeal, in an original proceeding or in any postconviction challenge, if waived on the basis of a pauper's affidavit.
Incarceration All Yes