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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Alabama Ala.Code 1975 § 14-4-10 Hard labor; additional sentence

Whenever any convict is sentenced by the court and required to do hard labor for the county, an additional sentence not to exceed 10 months in any case for the

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payment of costs of conviction may be imposed, and the court must determine a reasonable time required to work out such costs. The costs of conviction of county convicts shall be the same as provided by law now in force in the respective counties.

Incarceration All No
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Alabama Ala.Code 1975 § 15-18-62 Costs and Fines: willful nonpayment by defendant

In cases of willful nonpayment of the fine and costs, the defendant shall either be imprisoned in the county jail or, at the discretion of the court, sentenced to hard

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labor for the county as follows:(1) If the fine and costs do not exceed two hundred fifty dollars ($250), no more than 10 days; (2) If the fine and costs exceed two hundred fifty dollars ($250) but do not exceed five hundred dollars ($500), no more than 20 days; (3) If the fine and costs exceed five hundred dollars ($500), but do not exceed one thousand dollars ($1,000), no more than 30 days; and (4) For every additional one hundred dollars ($100) or fractional part thereof, 4 days.

Incarceration All Yes
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Alabama Ala.Code 1975 § 15-18-144 Restitution Withholding: Attachment of property

Any provision of any law of this state to the contrary notwithstanding and in addition to any other remedy which is or may be hereafter provided by law for the

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enforcement or collection of a restitution order, any decree, judgment, or order requiring the payment of restitution may include, upon motion of the victim, district attorney, the Attorney General, or the court, an order requiring that any asset or other income or any portion thereof to which a defendant is or may be entitled be withheld or attached, and such order may also require any person in real or constructive possession, custody, or control thereof to pay over, deliver, convey, transfer, or assign the same to the clerk of the court for disbursement, transfer, or assignment to the victim in accordance with the defendant's restitution obligation. If the prison authority reasonably believes that the defendant's outgoing mail contains any object or any item that has monetary value, the object or item shall be seized and transferred to the court of original jurisdiction. If the court determines that the item or object seized has monetary value, the item or object shall be transferred to the Crime Victims Compensation Fund for disbursement, transfer, or assignment to the victim for satisfaction of the defendant's outstanding restitution obligations. If the court determines that the item or object seized does not have any monetary value, the court shall return such to the prison to be promptly placed in the U.S. mail.

Wage/bank account garnishment All No
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Alabama Ala.Code 1975 § 12-23-7 Drug testing program

Any person who fails to complete treatment and pay for it shall be charged with violation of probation or parole

Condition or extension of supervision All Yes
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Alabama Ala.Code 1975 § 12-19-311(c) Additional fees on bail bond

Upon the failure to pay the fee in paragraph a. of subdivision (1) of subsection (a) and upon a finding of contempt in subsection (d), the bondsman, surety, guaranty, or

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individuals required to pay the fee shall be punished by a fine of not less than five hundred dollars ($500) in addition to the fee imposed in paragraph a. of subdivision (1) of subsection (a). The fine shall not be remitted, waived, or reduced unless the person(s) fined can show cause to the court that he or she cannot pay the fine in the reasonably foreseeable future. I

Increased fine All Yes
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Alabama Ala.Code 1975 § 12-18-72 Restitution to victim's of crimes: Condition of probation or parole; default.

(a) When a defendant whose sentence has been suspended and placed on probation by the court, and ordered to make restitution, defaults in the payment thereof or of any installment,

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the court on motion of the victim or the district attorney or upon its own motion shall require the defendant to show cause why his default should not be treated as violation of a condition of his probation.

(b) When the defendant is sentenced to the penitentiary by the court, and the court orders restitution, it shall be made a condition of his parole that restitution be made. When the parolee defaults in the payment thereof or any installment, the parole board on motion of the victim or the district attorney or the supervising parole officer, may require the defendant to show cause why his default should not be treated as a violation of a condition of parole, and the board may declare the parolee delinquent and after due process may revoke his parole.

Extension of probation/supervision Misdemeanor, Felony No
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Montana Mont. Code Ann. § 45-5-205(4) Negligent vehicular assault--penalty
If a term of incarceration is imposed under subsection (2) or (3), the judge may suspend the term of incarceration upon the condition of payment of any fine imposed and
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of restitution. If the person does not pay the fine or restitution, the term of incarceration may be imposed.
Incarceration Misdemeanor, Felony No
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Montana Mont. Code Ann. § 46-18-244(3)(a) Type and time of payment--defenses--ensuring payment
In addition to other methods of payment, the court may order one or more of the following in order to satisfy the offender's restitution obligation: (a) forfeiture and sale of
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the offender's assets under the provisions of Title 25, chapter 13, part 7, unless the court finds, after notice and an opportunity for the offender to be heard, that the assets are reasonably necessary for the offender to sustain a living or support the offender's dependents or unless the state determines that the cost of forfeiture and sale would outweigh the amount available to the victim after sale. If the proceeds of sale exceed the amount of restitution ordered and the costs of forfeiture and sale, any remaining amount must be returned to the offender
Property liens All No
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Montana Mont. Code Ann. § 46-18-244(6) Type and time of payment--defenses--ensuring payment
For a felony offense: (a) during any period that the offender is incarcerated, the department of corrections shall take a percentage, as set by department rule, of any money in
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any account of the defendant administered by the department and use the money to satisfy any existing restitution obligation; (b) at the beginning of any period during which the offender is not incarcerated, the offender shall sign a statement allowing any employer of the offender to garnish up to 25% of the offender's compensation and give the garnished amounts to the department of corrections to be used by the department to satisfy any existing restitution obligation; and (c) during any period that the defendant is on probation or parole, the probation and parole officer shall set a monthly restitution payment amount by dividing the total amount of unpaid restitution by the number of remaining months of probation or parole. The probation and parole officer may adjust the monthly payment up or down by a maximum of 10%, depending on the offender's circumstances.
Wage/bank account garnishment All Yes
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Montana Mont. Code Ann. § 46-18-244(7) Type and time of payment--defenses--ensuring payment
The department of corrections shall give the department of revenue a copy of the order to pay restitution. If full restitution has not been paid, the department of revenue shall,
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pursuant to an agreement made under 46-18-241, intercept any state tax refunds and any federal tax refunds, as provided by law, due the offender and transfer the money to the department of corrections for a felony offense and to the sentencing court for a misdemeanor offense for disbursement to the victim.
Wage/bank account garnishment All Yes
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Montana Mont. Code Ann. § 46-8-115 Effect of Nonpayment
(1) When a defendant who is sentenced to pay the costs of assigned counsel defaults in payment of the costs or of any installment, the court on motion of the
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prosecutor or on its own motion may require the defendant to show cause why the default should not be treated as contempt of court and may issue a show cause citation or an arrest warrant requiring the defendant's appearance. (2) Unless the defendant shows that the default was not attributable to an intentional refusal to obey the order of the court or to a failure on the defendant's part to make a good faith effort to make the payment, the court may find that the default constitutes civil contempt. (3) The term of imprisonment for contempt for nonpayment of the costs of assigned counsel must be set forth in the judgment and may not exceed 1 day for each $25 of the payment, 30 days if the order for payment of costs was imposed upon conviction of a misdemeanor, or 1 year in any other case, whichever is the shorter period. A person committed for nonpayment of costs must be given credit toward payment for each day of imprisonment at the rate specified in the judgment.
Incarceration Misdemeanor No
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Montana Mont. Code Ann. § 46-17-302(4) Procedure after trial--Justice's and city courts--Execution of Judgement
A judgment that the offender pay a fine may also direct that the offender be imprisoned until the fine is satisfied in the proportion of 1 day's imprisonment for every
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$75 of the fine. When the judgment is rendered, the offender must be held in custody for the time specified in the judgment unless the fine is paid.
Incarceration All No
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Montana Mont. Code Ann. § 46-18-208 Termination of remaining portion of deferred or suspended sentence--petition
When imposition of a sentence has been deferred or execution of a sentence has been suspended, the prosecutor or defendant may file a petition to terminate the time remaining on
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the sentence…The court may grant the petition if it finds that...the defendant has paid all restitution and court-ordered financial obligations in full.
Incarceration All No
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Montana Mont. Code Ann. § 46-18-233 Fine or costs as condition on suspended or deferred sentence
(1) Whenever a defendant is sentenced to pay a fine or costs under 46-18-231 or 46-18-232 and the imposition or execution of the rest of the defendant's sentence is deferred
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or suspended, the court may make payment of the fine or costs a condition for probation. (2) A suspended or deferred sentence may not be revoked if the defendant defaults on the payment of the fine and the default is not attributable to an intentional refusal to obey the order of the court or a failure to make a good faith effort to make the payment.
Incarceration All No
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Montana Mont. Code Ann. § 46-18-237 Garnishment--report by supervising authority
(1) If the department of corrections becomes aware that a person while incarcerated under the legal custody of the department of corrections or a person supervised by the department is
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entitled to receive money from any source, the person's supervising authority may prepare a report... (2) The supervising authority shall provide notice and a copy of the report to the office of victims services in the department of justice and the county attorney for the county in which the person was sentenced, either of whom may submit the report along with a petition for garnishment to the court that sentenced the person. The court may order garnishment of the person's money for the payment of restitution, child support, and per diem costs of incarceration owed by the person. Upon receipt of the petition, the court shall provide a copy of the report to the person, who has 15 days following receipt to file an objection. The court may hold a hearing to consider objections raised by the person. (3) Upon compliance with the provisions of subsections (1) and (2), the court shall determine the amount of restitution, child support, and repayment for per diem costs owed by the person. The court shall order, up to the amount of money available, payment of an amount equal to the restitution owed by the person to the person designated under 46-18-245 to supervise the making of restitution payments, any outstanding child support payments to the department of public health and human services for disbursement to the obligee, and per diem costs owed by the person. All restitution owed by the person must be paid prior to payment of any child support payments. All child support owed by the person must be paid prior to the payment of any per diem costs.
Wage/bank account garnishment All No
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Montana Mont. Code Ann. § 46-18-201(3) Sentences that may be imposed
(a) Whenever a person has been found guilty of an offense upon a verdict of guilty or a plea of guilty or nolo contendere, a sentencing judge may impose a
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sentence that may include: (i) a fine as provided by law for the offense; (ii) payment of costs, as provided in 46-18-232, or payment of costs of assigned counsel as provided in 46-8-113... (b) A court may permit a part or all of a fine to be satisfied by a donation of food to a food bank program.
Community service All No
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Montana Mont. Code Ann. § 46-18-201(6) Sentences that may be imposed
In addition to any of the penalties, restrictions, or conditions imposed pursuant to subsections (1) through (5), the sentencing judge may include the suspension of the license or driving privilege
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of the person to be imposed upon the failure to comply with any penalty, restriction, or condition of the sentence. A suspension of the license or driving privilege of the person must be accomplished as provided in 61-5-214 through 61-5-217.
Driver's license suspension/impoundment All No
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Montana Mont. Code Ann. § 46-18-244(3)(a) Type and time of payment--defenses--ensuring payment
In addition to other methods of payment, the court may order one or more of the following in order to satisfy the offender's restitution obligation: (a) forfeiture and sale of
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the offender's assets under the provisions of Title 25, chapter 13, part 7, unless the court finds, after notice and an opportunity for the offender to be heard, that the assets are reasonably necessary for the offender to sustain a living or support the offender's dependents or unless the state determines that the cost of forfeiture and sale would outweigh the amount available to the victim after sale. If the proceeds of sale exceed the amount of restitution ordered and the costs of forfeiture and sale, any remaining amount must be returned to the offender.
Property liens All No
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Montana Mont. Code Ann. § 46-18-244(4) Type and time of payment--defenses--ensuring payment
With the consent of the victim and in the discretion of the court, an offender may be ordered to make restitution in services to the victim in lieu of money
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or to make restitution to a person designated by the victim, if that person provided services to the victim as a result of the offense.
Community service All No
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Montana Mont. Code Ann. § 46-18-244(6) Type and time of payment--defenses--ensuring payment
(a) during any period that the offender is incarcerated, the department of corrections shall take a percentage, as set by department rule, of any money in any account of the
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defendant administered by the department and use the money to satisfy any existing restitution obligation; (b) at the beginning of any period during which the offender is not incarcerated, the offender shall sign a statement allowing any employer of the offender to garnish up to 25% of the offender's compensation and give the garnished amounts to the department of corrections to be used by the department to satisfy any existing restitution obligation; and (c) during any period that the defendant is on probation or parole, the probation and parole officer shall set a monthly restitution payment amount by dividing the total amount of unpaid restitution by the number of remaining months of probation or parole. The probation and parole officer may adjust the monthly payment up or down by a maximum of 10%, depending on the offender's circumstances.
Wage/bank account garnishment Felony Yes