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 § 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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Arkansas Ark. Code Ann. § 5-26-401(d) Nonsupport

A district court located in a county having a population in excess of two hundred thousand (200,000) inhabitants shall cause a warrant of arrest to be issued upon affidavit of

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a spouse or any person who is responsible for maintenance of a dependent child who states that nonsupport has taken place.

Incarceration All Yes
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Arkansas Ark. Code Ann. § 5-26-413   Temporary Support Order

At any time before a trial or pending appeal, upon motion of a complainant and upon notice to the defendant, the court may: ...(2) Punish for violation of the temporary

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support order as for contempt.

Incarceration All No
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Arkansas Ark. Code Ann. § 5-26-414(c)  Order for Periodic Payments -- Release of Defendant on Own Recognizance

Failure to appear is punishable by imprisonment for not less than ten (10) days nor more than ninety (90) days and shall not be suspended.

Incarceration All Yes
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Arkansas Ark. Code Ann. § 16-98-304(b) Cost and Fees

(b)(1) The drug court judge shall establish a schedule for the payment of costs and fees. . .

(7) Court orders for costs and fees shall remain an obligation of the

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offender with court monitoring until fully paid

Condition or extension of supervision All Yes
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Arkansas Ark. Code Ann. § 5-4-303(c) Conditions of Suspension or Probation

(c) If the court suspends imposition of sentence on a defendant or places him or her on probation, as a condition of its order the court may require that the

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defendant: (1) Support his or her dependents and meet his or her family responsibilities . . . (6) Make restitution to an aggrieved party in an amount the defendant can afford to pay for the actual loss or damage caused by his or her offense

Condition or extension of supervision All No
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Missouri Mo. Ann. Stat. § 559.016(3) Terms of probation - extension

The court may extend a period of probation, however, no more than one extension of any probation may be ordered except that the court may extend the total time on

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probation by one additional year by order of the court if the defendant admits he or she has violated the conditions of his or her probation or is found by the court to have violated the conditions of his or her probation. 

Condition or extension of supervision All No
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Missouri Mo. Ann. Stat. § 559.021(2)(1) Conditions of probation--compensation of victims--free work, public or charitable--defendant not an employee for workers’ compensation purposes--payment to county restitution fund, when

In addition to such other authority as exists to order conditions of probation, the court may order such conditions as the court believes will serve to compensate the victim, any

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dependent of the victim, any statutorily created fund for costs incurred as a result of the offender's actions, or society. Such conditions may include restorative justice methods pursuant to section 217.777, or any other method that the court finds just or appropriate including, but not limited to: (1) Restitution to the victim or any dependent of the victim, or statutorily created fund for costs incurred as a result of the offender's actions in an amount to be determined by the judge.

Condition or extension of supervision All No
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Missouri Mo. Ann. Stat. § 476.120 Punishment for contempt

Punishment for contempt may be by fine or imprisonment in the jail of the county where the court may be sitting, or both, in the discretion of the court.

Incarceration, Increased fine All No
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Missouri Mo. Ann. Stat. § 488.020 Collection of court costs, when, how

Upon notification to the party from whom the fee is due, a failure to pay the fee after such notice, and a showing of the party's ability to pay the

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fee, the court may hold the party in contempt.

Incarceration, Increased fine, Other All No
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Missouri Mo. Rev. Stat. § 488.020(3)-(4) Collection of court costs, when, how

The supreme court may provide by rule for imposition of interest on any court costs not paid within thirty days of when due. If any court cost is not paid

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when due, the following actions may be taken:

(3) Upon notification to the party from whom the court cost is due, and upon failure to pay the fee after such notice, the court may inform the office of administration of any delinquencies in excess of twenty-five dollars. Upon receiving such notice, and without further notice by the office of administration to the defaulting party, the office of administration shall deduct the amount of unpaid court costs from any payment by the state to the defaulting party under any provision of law. The office of administration shall transmit the amount set off to the court, and shall send the excess amount to the payee, with a notice that the remainder of the refund was transmitted to the court in satisfaction of all or part of the unpaid court costs. The office of administration and its officials and employees shall not be liable to any person for any action taken in accordance with the requirements of this subdivision. Any proceeding contesting any action taken by a court or the office of administration pursuant to this subdivision shall be brought in the court which certified such unpaid fees to the office of administration, and shall be deemed ancillary to the proceeding for which such unpaid fees were assessed. No appearance, responsive pleading or discovery shall be due from the office of administration in such proceeding except upon order of the court;

(4) Upon notification to the party from whom the fee is due, a failure to pay the fee after such notice, and a showing of the party's ability to pay the fee, the court may hold the party in contempt.

 

Collection fee/interest, Incarceration, Increased fine, Other, Wage/bank account garnishment All No
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Missouri Mo. Const. Art. 1, § 11 Imprisonment for debt

That no person shall be imprisoned for debt, except for nonpayment of fines and penalties imposed by law.

Incarceration All No
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Missouri Mo. Ann. Stat. § 600.093 Probation, payment for services may be condition

The court may require a defendant to repay all or a part of the value of the legal services rendered by the state public defender system as a condition of

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probation.

Condition or extension of supervision All No
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Missouri Mo. Ann. Stat. § 558.006(5) Response to nonpayment

Upon default in the payment of a fine or any installment thereof, the fine may be collected by any means authorized for the enforcement of money judgments.

Incarceration, Property liens, Wage/bank account garnishment All No
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Missouri Mo. Ann. Stat. § 545.02 Recovery of fine or forfeiture, how

Whenever a fine, penalty or forfeiture is or may be inflicted by any statute of this state for any offense, the same may be recovered by indictment or information, notwithstanding

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another or different remedy for the recovery of the same may be specified in the law imposing the fine, penalty or forfeiture; provided, that in all cases the fine, penalty or forfeiture shall go to the state, county, corporation, person or persons to whom the law imposing the same declares it shall accrue.

Incarceration, Increased fine All No
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Missouri Mo. Ann. Stat. § 559.105 Restitution may be ordered for tampering and stealing offenses--limitation on release from probation--payment

1. Any person who has been found guilty of or has pled guilty to an offense may be ordered by the court to make restitution to the victim for the

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victim's losses due to such offense. Restitution pursuant to this section shall include, but not be limited to a victim's reasonable expenses to participate in the prosecution of the crime.
2. No person ordered by the court to pay restitution pursuant to this section shall be released from probation until such restitution is complete. If full restitution is not made within the original term of probation, the court shall order the maximum term of probation allowed for such offense.
3. Any person eligible to be released on parole shall be required, as a condition of parole, to make restitution pursuant to this section. The board of probation and parole shall not release any person from any term of parole for such offense until the person has completed such restitution, or until the maximum term of parole for such offense has been served.
4. The court may set an amount of restitution to be paid by the defendant. Said amount may be taken from the inmate's account at the department of corrections while the defendant is incarcerated. Upon conditional release or parole, if any amount of such court-ordered restitution is unpaid, the payment of the unpaid balance may be collected as a condition of conditional release or parole by the prosecuting attorney or circuit attorney under section 559.100. The prosecuting attorney or circuit attorney may refer any failure to make such restitution as a condition of conditional release or parole to the parole board for enforcement.
 

Condition or extension of supervision All No
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Missouri Mo. Rev. Stat. § 600.089 Parolees to pay for representation, when

If the public defender commission has obtained a judgment against an offender in the custody of the department of corrections, and the offender is later paroled and becomes financially able

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to pay all or some part of such judgment, he shall be required, as a condition of his continued parole, to pay over to the public defender commission such amounts as he can reasonably pay, either by a single payment or by installments of reasonable amounts, in accordance with the schedule of charges for public defender services prepared pursuant to section 600.090.

Condition or extension of supervision All No
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Oklahoma 22 Okl.St.Ann. § 983A Imprisonment or recommendation of suspension of driving privileges for failure to pay fines, costs, fees, or assessments--Hearing--Installments
Any defendant found guilty of an offense in any court of this state may be imprisoned for nonpayment of the fine, cost, fee, or assessment when the trial court finds
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after notice and hearing that the defendant is financially able but refuses or neglects to pay the fine, cost, fee, or assessment. A sentence to pay a fine, cost, fee, or assessment may be converted into a jail sentence only after a hearing and a judicial determination, memorialized of record, that the defendant is able to satisfy the fine, cost, fee, or assessment by payment, but refuses or neglects so to do.
Incarceration All No