Data Explorer: Enforcement Mechanisms | 50 State Criminal Justice Debt Tool

Poverty Penalties and Poverty Traps

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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.

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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	Colorado	Colo. Rev. Stat. § 18-1.3-702(2)(c)	Monetary Payments - Due Process Required	If the defendant has the ability to pay the monetary amount as directed by the court or the court's designee but willfully fails to pay, the defendant may be imprisoned + See more for failure to comply with the court's lawful order to pay pursuant to the terms of this section.	Incarceration	All	No
Add to Dashboard + Create New	Colorado	Colo. Rev. Stat. § 18-1.3-702(5)	Monetary Payments - Failure to Pay	(5) If the court finds a defendant in contempt of court for willful failure to pay, the court may direct that the defendant be imprisoned until the monetary payment ordered + See more by the court is made, but the court shall specify a maximum period of imprisonment subject to the following limits: (a) When the monetary amount was imposed for a felony, the period shall not exceed one year; (b) When the monetary amount was imposed for a misdemeanor, the period shall not exceed one-third of the maximum term of imprisonment authorized for the misdemeanor; (c) When the monetary amount was imposed for a petty offense, a traffic violation, or a violation of a municipal ordinance, any of which is punishable by a possible jail sentence, the period shall not exceed fifteen days; (d) There shall be no imprisonment in those cases when no imprisonment is provided for in the possible sentence; and (e) When a sentence of imprisonment and a monetary amount was imposed, the aggregate of the period and the term of the sentence shall not exceed the maximum term of imprisonment authorized for the offense.	Incarceration	All	No
Add to Dashboard + Create New	Indiana	Ind. Code § 35-38-1-18 (d)(2)-(3)	Payment of Fines	(d) Upon any default in the payment of the fine:... (2) the court may direct that the person, if the person is not indigent, be committed to the county jail + See more and credited toward payment at the rate of twenty dollars ($20) for each twenty-four (24) hour period the person is confined, until the amount paid plus the amount credited equals the entire amount due; or (3) the court may institute contempt proceedings or order the convicted person’s wages, salary, and other income garnished in accordance with IC 24-4.5-5-105 to enforce the court’s order for payment of the fine.	Incarceration, Wage/bank account garnishment	All	No
Add to Dashboard + Create New	Indiana	Burns Ind. Code Ann. § 33-37-2-3 (a)(4); (d)	Indigency Hearing — Suspension of Costs — Default — Fees for Representation — Rights and Protections	(a) Except as provided in subsection (b), when the court imposes costs, it shall conduct a hearing to determine whether the convicted person is indigent. If the person is not indigent, + See more the court shall order the person to pay: ... (4) the entire amount of the costs at some later date, less any amount credited under subsections (g) through (i) for the performance of: (A) allowable community service work ordered by the court as part of the person’s sentence or as part of the person’s probation; or (B) uncompensated volunteer work approved by the court at a nonprofit or municipal corporation that benefits the community, even if the volunteer work is not ordered by the court. ... (d) Upon any default in the payment of the costs: (1) an attorney representing the county may bring an action on a debt for the unpaid amount; (2) the court may direct that the person, if the person is not indigent, be committed to the county jail and credited toward payment at the rate of twenty dollars ($20) for each twenty-four (24) hour period the person is confined, until the amount paid plus the amount credited equals the entire amount due; or (3) the court may institute contempt proceedings to enforce the court's order for payment of the costs.	Civil judgment, Community service, Incarceration	All	No
Add to Dashboard + Create New	New Jersey	N.J. Stat. Ann. § 2C:46-2	Consequences of Nonpayment	If the court finds that the person defaulted on payment of a court-imposed financial obligation, restitution, or child support or other support or maintenance ordered by a court without good cause and finds + See more that the default was willful, the court may, in addition to the action required by paragraph (1) of this subsection a., impose a term of imprisonment or participation in a labor assistance program or enforced community service to achieve the objective of the court-imposed financial obligation, restitution, or child support or other support or maintenance ordered by a court. These options shall not reduce the amount owed by the person in default. The term of imprisonment or enforced community service or participation in a labor assistance program in such case shall be specified in the order of commitment. It need not be equated with any particular dollar amount but, in the case of a fine it shall not exceed one day for each $50 of the fine nor shall it exceed a period of 90 consecutive days. In no case shall the total period of imprisonment in the case of a disorderly persons offense for both the sentence of imprisonment and for failure to pay a fine exceed six months.	Incarceration	All	No
Add to Dashboard + Create New	Wyoming	Wyo. Stat. Ann. § 6-10-105	Commitment for refusal to pay fine or costs; rate per day	A person committed to jail for willfully refusing to pay a fine or costs may be imprisoned if the court determines that the defendant has an ability to pay or + See more that a reasonable probability exists that the defendant will have an ability to pay, until the imprisonment, at the rate of fifteen dollars ($15.00) per day, equals the amount of the fine or costs, or the amount shall be paid or secured to be paid when he is discharged.	Incarceration	All	No
Add to Dashboard + Create New	Wyoming	Wyo. Stat. Ann. § 7-11-504	Commitment until fine and costs paid	If a defendant sentenced to pay a fine or costs defaults in payment, the court may order the defendant to show cause why he should not be committed to jail. + See more If the court finds that the defendant's default is willful or is due to a failure on defendant's part to make a good faith effort to obtain the funds required for the payment and the court determines that the defendant has an ability to pay or that a reasonable probability exists that the defendant will have an ability to pay, the court may order him committed until the fine or costs, or a specified part thereof, is paid. The defendant shall be given a credit for each day of imprisonment at the rate provided by W.S. 6 10 105, and may earn additional credits against his fine or costs for work performed as provided by W.S. 7 16 101 through 7 16 104.	Incarceration	All	No
Add to Dashboard + Create New	Wyoming	Wyo. R. Crim. P. 46.4(c)	Sanctions for Failure to Appear or for Violation of Release Order	(c) Violation of release condition. A person who has been released under Rule 46.1, 46.2, or Rule 46.3 and who has violated a condition of that release, is subject to + See more a revocation of release and a prosecution for contempt of court.	Incarceration	All	No

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