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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Washington DC DC ST § 16-706 Enforcement of judgments; commitment upon non-payment of fine
The Superior Court may enforce any of its judgments rendered in criminal cases by fine or imprisonment, or both. Except as otherwise provided by law, and subject to the relief
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provided in section 3569 of title 18, United States Code, in any case where the court imposes a fine, the court may, in the event of default in the payment of the fine imposed, commit the defendant for a term not to exceed one year.
Incarceration All No
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Washington DC DC ST § 50-2301.05 Monetary sanctions and fees (Traffic Adjudication)
(2) In addition to the civil fine, the following penalties may be imposed:(A) In the case of a person receiving a notice of infraction who fails to answer such notice
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within the time specified by § 50-2302.05(d)(1) and § 50-2303.05(d)(1), a penalty equal to the amount of the civil fine; (B) In the case of a person receiving a notice of infraction who fails to answer such notice by the close of business on the date set for the hearing or who answers but fails without good cause to appear at such hearing, with respect to infractions under subchapter II of this chapter, a penalty equal to twice the amount of the civil fine and, with respect to infractions under subchapter III of this chapter, a penalty equal to the amount of the civil fine plus $5.
Increased fine Traffic No
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Washington DC DC ST § 11-741 Contempt powers (DC Court of Appeals)
(a) Subject to the limitation described in subsection (b), and in addition to the powers conferred by section 402 of title 18, United States Code, the District of Columbia Court
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of Appeals, or a judge thereof, may punish for disobedience of an order or for contempt committed in the presence of the court.... (3)(A) An individual imprisoned for 6 consecutive months for civil contempt for disobedience of an order in a proceeding described in paragraph (1) who continues to disobey such order may be prosecuted for criminal contempt for disobedience of such order at any time before the expiration of the 12-month period that begins on the first day of such individual's imprisonment, except that an individual so imprisoned as of the date of the enactment of this subsection may be prosecuted under this subsection at any time during the 90-day period that begins on the date of the enactment of this subsection. ...
Incarceration All No
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Washington DC DC ST § 11-944 Contempt power (Superior Court of DC)
(a) Subject to the limitation described in subsection (b), and in addition to the powers conferred by section 402 of title 18, United States Code, the Superior Court, or a
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judge thereof, may punish for disobedience of an order or for contempt committed in the presence of the court.... (3)(A) An individual imprisoned for 6 consecutive months for civil contempt for disobedience of an order in a proceeding described in paragraph (1) who continues to disobey such order may be prosecuted for criminal contempt for disobedience of such order at any time before the expiration of the 12-month period that begins on the first day of such individual's imprisonment, except that an individual so imprisoned as of the date of the enactment of this subsection may be prosecuted under this subsection at any time during the 90-day period that begins on the date of the enactment of this subsection.
Incarceration All No
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Washington DC DC ST § 15-102 Lien of judgment, decree, or forfeited recognizance
(a) Each --(1) final judgment or decree for the payment of money rendered in the United States District Court for the District of Columbia, or the Superior Court of the
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District of Columbia, from the date such judgment or decree is filed and recorded in the office of the Recorder of Deeds of the District of Columbia, and (2) recognizance taken by the United States District Court for the District of Columbia, or the Superior Court of the District of Columbia, from the date the entry or order of forfeiture of such recognizance is filed and recorded in the office of the Recorder of Deeds of the District of Columbia, shall constitute a lien on all the freehold and leasehold estates, legal and equitable, of the defendants bound by such judgment, decree, or recognizance, in any land, tenements, or hereditaments in the District of Columbia, whether the estates are in possession or are reversions or remainders, vested or contingent. Such liens on equitable interest may be enforced only by an action to foreclose.
Property liens All Yes
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Washington DC DC ST § 15-320 Enforcement of decrees
a) For the purpose of executing a decree, or compelling obedience to it, the United States District Court for the District of Columbia or the Superior Court of the District
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of Columbia, in addition to the other procedures provided for by this chapter and Chapter 5 of Title 16, may:(1) issue an attachment against the person of the defendant; (2) order an immediate sequestration of his real and personal estate, or such part thereof as may be necessary to satisfy the decree; or (3) by order and injunction, cause the possession of the estate and effects whereof the possession or a sale is decreed to be delivered to the complainant, or otherwise, according to the tenor and import of the decree and as the nature of the case requires. In case of sequestration, the court may order payment and satisfaction to be made out of the estate and effects so sequestrated, according to the true intent and meaning of the decree. (b) When a defendant is arrested and brought into court upon any process of contempt issued to compel the performance of a decree, the court may, upon motion, order: (1) the defendant to stand committed; or (2) his estates and effects to be sequestrated and payment made, as directed by subsection (a) of this section; or (3) possession of his estate and effects to be delivered by order and injunction, as directed by subsection (a) of this section -- until the decree or order is fully performed and executed, according to the tenor and true meaning thereof, and the contempt cleared. (c) Where a decree only directs the payment of money, the defendant may not be imprisoned except in those cases especially provided for.
Property liens All No