50-State Criminal Justice Debt Reform Builder Bringing transparency to areas of significant legal complexity.
Poverty Penalties and Poverty Traps
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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.
15 Results
| State | Statute | Description/Statute Name | Statutory language | Type of poverty penalty or poverty trap | Level of offense | Mandatory | |
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Arkansas | Ark. Code Ann. § 5-4-204(a) | Collection After Default |
When a defendant sentenced to pay a fine or costs defaults in the payment of the fine or costs or of any installment, the fine or costs may be collected by any means authorized for the enforcement of a money judgment in a civil action.
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Property liens | All | No |
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Arkansas | Ark. Code Ann. § 5-4-204(b) | Collection After Default |
A judgment that the defendant pay a fine or costs constitutes a lien on the real property and personal property of the defendant in the same manner and to the same extent as a money judgment in a civil action.
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Property liens | All | Yes |
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Arkansas | Ark. Code Ann. § 16-92-104 | Costs and Fees -- Capital Cases |
The costs in all cases of conviction where the convict may be sentenced to suffer death, and all expenses attending the execution of the sentence, shall be adjudged and taxed by the court and paid out of the estate of the convict, and execution may be issued against the estate of the convict therefor.
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Property liens | Felony | Yes |
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Arkansas | Ark. Code Ann. § 16-92-102 | Costs and Fees -- Execution |
(a) The clerk of the court, at the end of each term, shall issue executions for all fines imposed on indictments, in penal actions, or otherwise, and for the costs of conviction in criminal cases during the term, and remaining unpaid, which shall be executed in the same manner as executions in civil cases. The property of the defendant may be seized and sold, notwithstanding that he or she may be in custody for the same demand.
(b) In every case where a witness is summoned by a special subpoena to testify in a particular case in which an indictment may be found, it shall be the duty of the clerk to tax the attendance of the witness with the cost of the suit, to be collected from the defendant, in the event that judgment shall be rendered against him or her therefor, and to be paid into the county treasury. |
Property liens | All | No |
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Arkansas | Ark. Code Ann. § 16-92-101(a) | Costs and Fees -- Defendant's Property Bound From Time of Arrest |
The property, both real and personal, of any person charged with a criminal offense shall be bound from the time of his or her arrest or the finding of an indictment against him or her, whichever shall first happen, for the payment of all fines and costs which he or she may be adjudged to pay. However, no such lien shall be enforced unless the county judge of the county in which the judgment is rendered on the criminal charge shall file, or cause to be filed, with the circuit clerk of the county in which the person may own property, and within six (6) months after the rendition of judgment against the person, a notice of lis pendens as provided for in §§ 16-59-101 -- 16-59-105, 16-59-107, and 16-66-402 and shall cause suit to be instituted to enforce the lien within two (2) years after the date of the filing of the notice.
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Property liens | All | Yes |
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Texas | Tex. Code Crim. Proc. Art. 43.07 | Execution for Fine and Costs |
In each case of pecuniary fine, an execution may issue for the fine and costs, though a capias pro fine was issued for the defendant; and a capias pro fine may issue for the defendant though an execution was issued against the defendant's property. The execution shall be collected and returned as in civil actions. When the execution has been collected, the defendant shall be at once discharged; and whenever the fine and costs have been legally discharged in any way, the execution shall be returned satisfied.
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Property liens | All | No |
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Texas | Tex. Code Crim. Proc. Art. 42A.751(b),(e) | Violation of Conditions of Community Supervision; Detention and Hearing |
(b) At any time during the period of community supervision, the judge may issue a warrant for a violation of any condition of community supervision and cause the defendant to be arrested. Any supervision officer, police officer, or other officer with the power of arrest may arrest the defendant with or without a warrant on the order of the judge to be noted on the docket of the court. Subject to Subsection (c), a defendant arrested under this subsection may be detained in the county jail or other appropriate place of confinement until the defendant can be taken before the judge for a determination regarding the alleged violation.
(e) A judge may revoke without a hearing the community supervision of a defendant who is imprisoned in a penal institution if the defendant in writing before a court of record or a notary public in the jurisdiction where the defendant is imprisoned |
Incarceration | All | No |
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Texas | Tex. Gov't Code Sec. 21.002(a)-(c) | Contempt of Court |
(a) Except as provided by Subsection (g), a court may punish for contempt. (b) The punishment for contempt of a court other than a justice court or municipal court is a fine of not more than $500 or confinement in the county jail for not more than six months, or both such a fine and confinement in jail.
(c) The punishment for contempt of a justice court or municipal court is a fine of not more than $100 or confinement in the county or city jail for not more than three days, or both such a fine and confinement in jail. |
Incarceration, Increased fine | All | No |
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Texas | Tex. Code Crim. Proc. Art. 43.03(a) | Payment of Fine |
If a defendant is sentenced to pay a fine or costs or both and the defendant defaults in payment, the court after a hearing under Subsection (d) of this article may order the defendant confined in jail until discharged as provided by law, may order the defendant to discharge the fines and costs in any other manner provided by Article 43.09 of this code, or may waive payment of the fines and costs as provided by Article 43.091. A certified copy of the judgment, sentence, and order is sufficient to authorize confinement under this subsection
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Incarceration | All | No |
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Utah | Utah Code Ann. § 76-3-201.1 | Collection of criminal judgments--warrants |
When a defendant defaults in the payment of a criminal judgment account receivable or any installment of that receivable, the court, on motion of the prosecution, victim, or upon its + See moreown motion may: (a) order the defendant to appear and show cause why the default should not be treated as contempt of court; or (b) issue a warrant of arrest...(4)(a) 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 to make a good faith effort to make the payment, the court may find that the default constitutes contempt. (b) Upon a finding of contempt, the court may order the defendant committed until the criminal judgment account receivable, or a specified part of it, is paid...(5) If it appears to the satisfaction of the court that the default is not contempt, the court may enter an order for any of the following or any combination of the following...(d) except as provided in Section 77-18-8[fines issued in addition to imprisonment or in lieu of imprisonment], execute the original sentence of imprisonment
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Incarceration | All | No |
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Utah | Utah Code Ann. § 76-3-201.1 | Collection of criminal judgments--collection of civil judgment |
Upon default in the payment of a criminal judgment account receivable or upon default in the payment of any installment of that receivable, the criminal judgment account receivable may be + See morecollected as provided in this section or Subsection 77-18-1(9) or (10), and by any means authorized by law for the collection of a civil judgment.
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Property liens | All | No |
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Utah | Utah Code Ann. § 76-3-201.1 | Collection of criminal judgments--reduce fines |
When a defendant defaults in the payment of a criminal judgment account receivable or any installment of that receivable, the court, on motion of the prosecution, victim, or upon its + See moreown motion may: (a) order the defendant to appear and show cause why the default should not be treated as contempt of court; or (b) issue a warrant of arrest...
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Incarceration | All | No |
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Utah | Utah Code Ann. § 77-18-6(2)(a) | Judgment to pay fine or restitution constitutes a lien | When a fine, forfeiture, surcharge, cost, fee, or restitution is recorded in the registry of civil judgments, the judgment: (a) constitutes a lien | Property liens | All | No |
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Utah | Utah Code Ann. § 77-32a-10 | Imprisonment for contempt |
The term of imprisonment for contempt for nonpayment of costs shall be set forth in the commitment order, and shall not exceed one day for each $25 of the costs, + See more30 days if the costs were imposed upon conviction of a misdemeanor, or six months in the case of a felony, whichever is the shorter period. A person committed for nonpayment of costs shall be given credit toward payment for each day of imprisonment at the rate specified in the commitment order.
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Incarceration | All | Yes |
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Utah | Utah Code Ann. § 77-38a-601 | Preservation of assets |
Prior to or at the time a criminal information, indictment charging a violation, or a petition alleging delinquency is filed, or at any time during the prosecution of the case, + See morea prosecutor may, if in the prosecutor's best judgment there is a substantial likelihood that a conviction will be obtained and restitution will be ordered in the case, petition the court to: (a) enter a temporary restraining order, an injunction, or both; (b) require the execution of a satisfactory performance bond; or (c) take any other action to preserve the availability of property which may be necessary to satisfy an anticipated restitution order.
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Property liens | All | No |
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