50-State Criminal Justice Debt Reform Builder Bringing transparency to areas of significant legal complexity.
Poverty Penalties and Poverty Traps
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See all poverty penalty and poverty trap policy recommendations in CJPP’s Policy Guide
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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.
21 Results
| State | Statute | Description/Statute Name | Statutory language | Type of poverty penalty or poverty trap | Level of offense | Mandatory | |
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Louisiana | CCRP 887 C | Payment plan for fines and costs assessed |
...In the event the person is unable to pay the fine when assessed, the court may allow payment within certain time limits, based on the person's ability to pay such + See morecosts.
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Payment plan/installment plan | All | No |
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Louisiana | LA Rev Stat §13:1000.13.D | Payment plan for warrant recall fee |
In the event that an individual is unable to pay the cost when assessed, the court may allow payment to be deferred within a certain time frame, based on the + See moreperson's ability to pay the costs.
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Payment plan/installment plan | All | No |
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Florida | Fla. Stat. §948.09(6) | Payment for cost of supervision and other monetary obligations |
The department shall establish a payment plan for all costs ordered by the courts for collection by the department and a priority order for payments, except that victim restitution payments authorized under s. 948.03(1)(f) take precedence over all other court-ordered payments. The department is not required to disburse cumulative amounts of less than $10 to individual payees established on this payment plan.
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Payment plan/installment plan | All | Yes |
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Florida | Fla. Stat. §938.30(10) | Financial obligations in criminal cases; supplementary proceedings |
In lieu of examining the person, or in addition thereto, the court may order the person to comply with a payment schedule to satisfy the obligation. |
Payment plan/installment plan | All | No |
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Florida | Fla. Stat. §938.30(11) | Financial obligations in criminal cases; supplementary proceedings |
Any person failing to appear or willfully failing to comply with an order under this section, including an order to comply with a payment schedule established by the clerk of court, may be held in civil contempt.
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Payment plan/installment plan | All | No |
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Florida | Fla. Stat. §945.091(6)(b) | Extension of the limits of confinement; restitution by employed inmates |
An offender who is required to provide restitution or reparation may petition the circuit court to amend the amount of restitution or reparation required or to revise the schedule of repayment established by the department or the Florida Commission on Offender Review.
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Payment plan/installment plan | All | Yes |
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Florida | Fla. Stat. §776.085(4)(b) | Defense to civil action for damages; party convicted of forcible or attempted forcible felony |
The court shall award a reasonable attorney's fee to be paid to the prevailing party in equal amounts by the losing party and the losing party's attorney; however, the losing party's attorney is not personally responsible if he or she has acted in good faith, based on the representations of his or her client. If the losing party is incarcerated for the crime or attempted crime and has insufficient assets to cover payment of the costs of the action and the award of fees pursuant to this paragraph, the party shall, as determined by the court, be required to pay by deduction from any payments the prisoner receives while incarcerated.
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Payment plan/installment plan | All | Yes |
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Florida | Fla. Stat. §960.17(2) | Award constitutes debt owed to state |
The court, when placing on probation as provided in chapter 948 any person who owes a debt to the state as a consequence of a criminal act, shall set as a condition of probation the payment of the debt to the state. The court may also set the schedule or amounts of payments, subject to modification based on change of circumstances, unless it finds reasons to the contrary. If the court does not order payment, or orders only partial payment, it shall state on the record the reasons therefor.
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Payment plan/installment plan | All | Yes |
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Florida | Fla. Stat. §903.286 | Return of cash bond; requirement to withhold unpaid fines, fees, court costs; cash bond forms |
(1) Notwithstanding s. 903.31(2), the clerk of the court shall withhold from the return of a cash bond posted on behalf of a criminal defendant by a person other than a bail bond agent licensed pursuant to chapter 648 sufficient funds to pay any unpaid costs of prosecution, costs of representation as provided by ss. 27.52 and 938.29, court fees, court costs, and criminal penalties. If sufficient funds are not available to pay all unpaid costs of prosecution, costs of representation as provided by ss. 27.52 and 938.29, court fees, court costs, and criminal penalties, the clerk of the court shall immediately obtain payment from the defendant or enroll the defendant in a payment plan pursuant to s. 28.246.
(2) All cash bond forms used in conjunction with the requirements of s. 903.09 must prominently display a notice explaining that all funds are subject to forfeiture and withholding by the clerk of the court for the payment of costs of prosecution, costs of representation as provided by ss. 27.52 and 938.29, court fees, court costs, and criminal penalties on behalf of the criminal defendant regardless of who posted the funds. |
Payment plan/installment plan | All | Yes |
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Florida | Fla. Stat. §28.246(4) | Payment of court-related fines or other monetary penalties, fees, charges, and costs; partial payments; distribution of funds |
The clerk of the circuit court shall accept partial payments for court-related fees, service charges, costs, and fines in accordance with the terms of an established payment plan. An individual seeking to defer payment of fees, service charges, costs, or fines imposed by operation of law or order of the court under any provision of general law shall apply to the clerk for enrollment in a payment plan. The clerk shall enter into a payment plan with an individual who the court determines is indigent for costs. A monthly payment amount, calculated based upon all fees and all anticipated costs, is presumed to correspond to the person’s ability to pay if the amount does not exceed 2 percent of the person’s annual net income, as defined in s. 27.52(1), divided by 12. The court may review the reasonableness of the payment plan.
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Payment plan/installment plan | All | Yes |
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Florida | Fla. Stat. §775.083(1) | Fines |
(1) A person who has been convicted of an offense other than a capital felony may be sentenced to pay a fine in addition to any punishment described in s. 775.082; when specifically authorized by statute, he or she may be sentenced to pay a fine in lieu of any punishment described in s.775.082. A person who has been convicted of a noncriminal violation may be sentenced to pay a fine . . . If a defendant is unable to pay a fine, the court may defer payment of the fine to a date certain.
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Payment plan/installment plan | All | No |
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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. § 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. § 546.902 | Ordinances, rules and regulations, enactment by municipalities in certain first class counties--penalty for violation, not to conflict with statute--place of imprisonment |
Any municipality located within any county of the first classification with a population in excess of nine hundred thousand, for any purpose or purposes mentioned in this chapter, may enact and make all necessary ordinances, rules and regulations; and they may enact and make all such ordinances and rules, not inconsistent with the laws of the state, as may be expedient for maintaining the peace and good government and welfare of the city and its trade and commerce; and all ordinances may be enforced by prescribing and inflicting upon its inhabitants, or other persons violating the same, such fine not exceeding one thousand dollars, and such imprisonment not exceeding three months, or both such fine and imprisonment, as may be just for any offense, recoverable with costs of suit, together with judgment of imprisonment, until the fine and costs are paid or satisfied; and any person committed for the nonpayment of fine and costs, or either, may be compelled to work out the same as herein provided; but, in any case wherein the penalty for an offense is fixed by any statute, the council shall affix the same penalty by ordinance for the punishment of such offense, except that imprisonments, when made under city ordinances, may be in the city prison or workhouse instead of the county jail.
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Civil judgment | All | No |
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Wyoming | Wyo. Stat. Ann. § 31-9-305 | Payment of judgments in installments; failure to meet payments |
(a) A judgment debtor upon notice to the judgment creditor may apply to the court in which judgment was rendered for the privilege of paying the judgment in installments and the court, in its discretion and without prejudice to any other legal remedies which the judgment creditor may have, may order and fix the amounts and times of payment of the installments.
(b) The division shall not suspend a license, registration or a nonresident's operating privilege, and shall restore any license, registration or nonresident's operating privilege suspended following nonpayment of a judgment, when the judgment debtor gives proof of financial responsibility and obtains an order permitting the payment of the judgment in installments, and while the payment of any installment is not in default. (c) If the judgment debtor fails to pay any installment as specified by the order, then upon notice of default, the division shall suspend the license, registration or nonresident's operating privilege of the judgment debtor until the judgment is fully satisfied, as provided in this act. |
Driver's license suspension/impoundment, Payment plan/installment plan | All | No |
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Wyoming | Wyo. Stat. Ann. § 5-6-111 | Execution on judgments |
Upon assessment of any fine and costs for the conviction of a violation of any ordinance of a city or town, judgment shall be entered against the defendant in favor of the city or town. If the judgment is not paid within ninety (90) days from the date of the judgment the city or town may collect judgment by execution in circuit court in the manner provided by law. Except as otherwise provided by law all amounts recovered pursuant to this section shall be deposited with the city or town treasurer, used for the benefit of the city or town, and credited against the fine and reasonable costs of collection.
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Civil judgment | Misdemeanor | Yes |
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Wyoming | Wyo. Stat. Ann. § 7-13-421 | Restitution as condition of parole |
(b) The board shall provide for restitution in the amount determined by the court pursuant to W.S. 7-9-103 unless the board finds the parolee is not reasonably capable of making the payments, in which case the board may modify the amount of restitution to be paid, taking into account the factors enumerated in W.S. 7-9-106.
(c) If the parolee fails to pay the restitution as provided by this section the board may: (i) Modify the amount of the restitution; (ii) Repealed By Laws 2011, Ch. 30, § 2. (iii) Revoke the parole. |
Condition or extension of supervision, Payment plan/installment plan | All | No |
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Wyoming | Wyo. Stat. Ann. § 7-9-115 | Modification of order |
After a long-term physical health care restitution order has been entered, the court may from time to time, on the petition of either the defendant or the victim, or upon its own motion, modify the order as to the amount of monthly payments. Any modification of the order shall only be based upon a substantial change of circumstances relating to the cost of long-term physical health care or the financial condition of either the defendant or the victim. The petition shall be filed as part of the original criminal docket.
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Payment plan/installment plan | All | No |
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Wyoming | Wyo. Stat. Ann. § 7-13-306 | Payment of fine in installments |
When imposing a fine and also placing the defendant on probation, the district judge may permit the fine to be paid in installments over a reasonable period of time. |
Payment plan/installment plan | All | No |
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Wyoming | Wyo. Stat. Ann. § 7-6-108 | Recovery of payment |
(a) Within six (6) years after the date the services were rendered, the attorney general may sue on behalf of the state to recover payment or reimbursement from each person who has received legal assistance or other benefits under this act or, in the case of an unemancipated minor, from his custodial parent or any other person who has a legal obligation of support.
(b) Amounts recovered under this act shall be paid into the state general fund. |
Civil judgment | 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.