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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.
6 Results
State | Statute | Description/Statute Name | Statutory language | Type of poverty penalty or poverty trap | Level of offense | Mandatory | |
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Vermont | Vt. Stat. Ann. tit. 13 § 7180(4)(b) | Remedies for failure to pay fines, costs, surcharges, and penalties |
(4) Contempt. (A) The court may conclude that the defendant is in contempt if the court finds that: (i) the defendant knew or reasonably should have known that he or she owed the amount due; (ii) the defendant had the ability to pay all or any portion of the amount due; and (iii) the defendant failed to pay all or any portion of the amount due.
(B) If the court concludes that the defendant is in contempt, the court may: (i) Order payment of the amount due on a specific date. (ii) Assess an additional penalty not to exceed ten percent of the amount due. (iii) Direct that the matter be reported to one or more designated credit bureaus. The Court Administrator or the Court Administrator's designee is authorized to contract with one or more credit bureaus for the purpose of reporting information about unpaid Judicial Bureau judgments. (iv) Refer to Small Claims Court for the purpose of issuing writs of attachment for property and trustee process pursuant to 12 V.S.A. § 5534. Filing fees shall be waived in such cases. (v) Sentence the defendant to serve a term of imprisonment on furlough to participate in a program supervised by the Department of Corrections pursuant to 28 V.S.A. § 808(a) that provides reparation to the community in the form of supervised work activities. For each day the defendant participates in supervised work activities, the defendant shall be given credit against the amount owed at the hourly rate for minimum wage. A defendant who is determined by the Department of Corrections to be ineligible for the preapproved furlough supervised work program may be ordered by the court to serve a sentence in a correctional facility, in which event the defendant shall be given credit against the amount owed for every day served at a rate determined by the court. |
Incarceration, Increased fine, Property liens, Work program/jail industry program | All | No |
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Vermont | Vt. Stat. Ann. tit. 23 § 1209a(a)(1)(D) | Conditions of reinstatement; alcohol and driving education; screening; therapy programs |
(1) In the case of a first suspension, a license or privilege to operate shall be reinstated only: . . . (D) if the person has no pending criminal charges, civil citations, or unpaid fines or penalties for a violation under this chapter.
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Driver's license suspension/impoundment | All | Yes |
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Vermont | Vt. Stat. Ann. tit. 4 § 1109 | Remedies for failure to pay; contempt |
(b) Late fees; suspensions for nonpayment of certain traffic violation judgments. (1) A Judicial Bureau judgment shall provide notice that a $ 30.00 fee shall be assessed for failure to pay within 30 days. If the defendant fails to pay the amount due within 30 days, the fee shall be added to the judgment amount and deposited in the Court Technology Special Fund established pursuant to section 27 of this title.
(2) (A) In the case of a judgment on a traffic violation for which the imposition of points against the person's driving record is authorized by law, the judgment shall contain a notice that failure to pay or otherwise satisfy the amount due within 30 days of the notice will result in suspension of the person's operator's license or privilege to operate, and that payment plan options are available. If the defendant fails to pay the amount due within 30 days of the notice, or by a later date as determined by a Judicial Bureau clerk or hearing officer, and the case is not pending on appeal, the Judicial Bureau shall provide electronic notice thereof to the Commissioner of Motor Vehicles. After 20 days from the date of receiving the electronic notice, the Commissioner shall suspend the person's operator's license or privilege to operate for a period of 30 days or until the amount due is satisfied, whichever is earlier. (B) At minimum, the Judicial Bureau shall offer a payment plan option that allows a person to avoid a suspension of his or her license or privilege to operate by paying no more than $ 30.00 per traffic violation judgment per month, and not to exceed $ 100.00 per month if the person has four or more outstanding judgments. (B) In the contempt order, the hearing officer may do one or more of the following: (i) Set a date by which the defendant shall pay the amount due. (ii) Assess an additional penalty not to exceed ten percent of the amount due; . . . (iv) Recommend that the Criminal Division of the Superior Court incarcerate the defendant until the amount due is paid. If incarceration is recommended pursuant to this subdivision (c)(5), the Judicial Bureau shall notify the Criminal Division of the Superior Court that contempt proceedings should be commenced against the defendant. The Criminal Division of the Superior Court proceedings shall be de novo. If the defendant cannot afford counsel for the contempt proceedings in the Criminal Division of the Superior Court, the Defender General shall assign counsel at the Defender General's expense. |
Driver's license suspension/impoundment, Incarceration, Increased fine | Traffic | No |
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Wisconsin | Wis. Stat. § 973.07 | Failure to pay fine, fees, surcharges, or costsor to comply with certain community service work. |
If the fine, plus costs, fees, and surcharges imposed under ch. 814, are not paid or community service work under s. 943.017 (3) is not completed as required by the + See moresentence, the defendant may be committed to the county jail until the fine, costs, fees, and surcharges are paid or discharged, or the community service work under s.943.017 (3) is completed, for a period fixed by the court not to
exceed 6 months.
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Incarceration | All | No |
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Wisconsin | Wis. Stat. § 800.095(1)(a) | Nonpayment of monetary judgment |
(a) Suspension of the defendants operating privilege until the defendant pays the judgment, but not to exceed one year. If the court orders suspension under this paragraph, all of the + See morefollowing apply:
1. The court shall notify the department of transportation of the suspension for failure to pay the judgment. If the defendant pays the judgment, the court shall notify the department of transportation of the payment within 7 days in the form and manner prescribed by the department.
2. The court may order the suspension concurrent or consecutive to any other suspensions or revocations. If the court fails to specify whether the suspension is consecutive or concurrent, the department of transportation shall implement the suspension concurrent
with any other suspensions or revocations.
3. If the judgment remains unpaid at the end of the one?year suspension, the court may not order a further suspension of operating privileges in relation to the outstanding judgment.
3m. If the court terminates the defendants suspension as the result of the defendants agreement to a payment plan or community service and the defendant is later suspended because he or she defaults on that plan or service, the new suspension shall be
reduced by the amount of time that the suspension was served before being terminated by the court.
4. Serving the complete one?year suspension of the defendants operating privilege does not relieve the defendant of the responsibility to pay the judgment.
5. During the period of operating privilege suspension under this paragraph, the defendant may request the court to reconsider the order of suspension based on an inability to pay the judgment because of poverty, as that term is used in s. 814.29 (1) (d). The court shall consider the defendants request. If the court determines that the inability to pay the judgment is because of poverty, the court shall withdraw the suspension and grant the defendant further time to pay or withdraw the suspension and order one or
more other sanctions set forth in this subsection, including community service.
6. This paragraph does not apply if the judgment was entered solely for a violation of an ordinance unrelated to the violators operation of a motor vehicle unless the judgment is ordered under ch. 938. Nonmoving traffic offenses, as defined in s. 345.28 (1)(c), are related to the violators operation of a motor vehicle.
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Driver's license suspension/impoundment | All | No |
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Wisconsin | Wis. Stat. § 800.095(1)(b) | Nonpayment of monetary judgment |
(b) 1. That the defendant be imprisoned until the forfeiture, assessments, surcharge, and costs are paid. If the court orders imprisonment under this subdivision, all of the following apply:
a. + See moreThe maximum period of imprisonment shall be 90 days for
any one judgment, and the defendant shall receive credit against
the amount owed at the rate of at least $50 for each day of imprisonment,
including imprisonment following an arrest but prior to
the court making a finding under subd. 2.
b. The court may impose a term of imprisonment under this subdivision that is either concurrent with or consecutive to any other term of imprisonment imposed at the same time or any term of imprisonment imposed by any court.
2. No defendant may be imprisoned under subd. 1. unless the court makes one of the following findings:
a. Either at sentencing or thereafter, that the defendant has the ability to pay the judgment within a reasonable time. If a defendant meets the criteria in s. 814.29 (1) (d), the defendant shall be presumed unable to pay under this subsection and the court shall either suspend or extend payment of the judgment or order community service.
b. The defendant has failed, without good cause, to perform the community service authorized under this subsection or s.800.09.
c. The defendant has failed to attend an indigence hearing offered by the court to provide the defendant with an opportunity to determine whether he or she has the ability to pay the judgment.
d. The defendant has failed, without good cause, to complete an assessment or treatment program related to alcohol or drugs that was ordered in lieu of a monetary forfeiture.
3. a. Except as provided in subd. 3. b., the defendant shall be committed to a jail or a house of correction in the county in which the cause of action arose.
b. The defendant may be committed to the jail in another county within or outside of the state if the other county borders the county in which the cause of action arose, and the monthly expenses charged to the municipality by the other county to imprison the defendant are at least 25 percent less than the monthly expenses charged by the county in which the cause of action arose, and the other county agrees to having the defendant committed to the jail in that county.
c. The defendant shall be eligible for privileges under s.303.08 or a similar program in the other county if committed under subd. 3. b. The municipality shall pay the expenses incurred by the county to imprison the defendant.
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Incarceration | All | No |
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