Criminal Justice Policy Program at Harvard Law School
50-State Criminal Justice Debt Reform Builder Bringing transparency to areas of significant legal complexity.
50-State Criminal Justice Debt Reform Builder Bringing transparency to areas of significant legal complexity.
Poverty Penalties and Poverty Traps
Keyword search across all of the laws in the states. Subject-area tabs above allow you to narrow results. Click the advanced search for further refinement.
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See all poverty penalty and poverty trap policy recommendations in CJPP’s Policy Guide
State
- Alabama (6)
- Alaska (16)
- Arizona (18)
- Arkansas (21)
- (-) California (13)
- Colorado (18)
- Connecticut (19)
- Delaware (17)
- Florida (84)
- Georgia (10)
- Hawaii (11)
- Idaho (11)
- Illinois (11)
- Indiana (8)
- Iowa (12)
- Kansas (13)
- Kentucky (12)
- Louisiana (22)
- Maine (22)
- Maryland (10)
- Massachusetts (19)
- Michigan (32)
- Minnesota (6)
- Mississippi (14)
- Missouri (22)
- Montana (18)
- Nebraska (9)
- Nevada (14)
- New Hampshire (17)
- New Jersey (20)
- New Mexico (14)
- New York (15)
- North Carolina (14)
- North Dakota (21)
- Ohio (32)
- Oklahoma (17)
- Oregon (17)
- Pennsylvania (20)
- Rhode Island (7)
- South Carolina (36)
- South Dakota (14)
- Tennessee (16)
- Texas (32)
- (-) Utah (20)
- Vermont (8)
- Virginia (30)
- Washington (31)
- Washington DC (6)
- West Virginia (11)
- (-) Wisconsin (9)
- (-) Wyoming (22)
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- Civil judgment (2)
- Collection fee/interest (4)
- Community service (3)
- Condition or extension of supervision (8)
- Driver's license suspension/impoundment (5)
- Extension of probation/supervision (0)
- Incarceration (15)
- Increased fine (2)
- Other (1)
- Payment plan/installment plan (14)
- Property liens (8)
- Wage/bank account garnishment (7)
- Work program/jail industry program (3)
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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.
64 Results
| State | Statute | Description/Statute Name | Statutory language | Type of poverty penalty or poverty trap | Level of offense | Mandatory | |
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California | Cal. Rules of Court 4.335(4)(B) | Ability to pay determination for infraction offenses | the court may exercise its discretion to: . . . (B) Allow the defendant to complete community service in lieu of paying the total fine (if available) | Community service | Misdemeanor | No |
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California | Cal. Rules of Court 4.335(4)(A) | Ability to pay determination for infraction offenses | the court may exercise its discretion to: (A) Provide for payment on an installment plan | Payment plan/installment plan | Misdemeanor | No |
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California | CA ST J ADMIN STANDARDS Standard 4.40 | Traffic infraction procedures |
to insure the prompt and efficient disposition of traffic infraction cases, each court should:(1) Authorize the clerk, within limits set by the court, to grant defendants extensions of time for + See morethe posting of bail and payment of fines.
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Payment plan/installment plan | Traffic | No |
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California | Cal. Pen. Code § 166(e)(2) | Contempt of court; Stalking; Punishments |
...If probation is granted upon conviction of a violation of subdivision (c), the conditions of probation may include, in lieu of a fine, one or both of the following requirements:(A) That the defendant make payments to a battered women’s shelter, up to a maximum of one thousand dollars ($1,000). (B) That the defendant provide restitution to reimburse the victim for reasonable costs of counseling and other reasonable expenses that the court finds are the direct result of the defendant’s offense.
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Collection fee/interest | Misdemeanor | No |
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California | Cal. Pen. Code § 594(c), (f) | Vandalism; Punishment |
(c) Upon conviction of any person under this section for acts of vandalism consisting of defacing property with graffiti or other inscribed materials, the court shall, when appropriate and feasible, in addition to any punishment imposed under subdivision (b), order the defendant to clean up, repair, or replace the damaged property himself or herself, or order the defendant, and his or her parents or guardians if the defendant is a minor, to keep the damaged property or another specified property in the community free of graffiti for up to one year. Participation of a parent or guardian is not required under this subdivision if the court deems this participation to be detrimental to the defendant, or if the parent or guardian is a single parent who must care for young children. If the court finds that graffiti cleanup is inappropriate, the court shall consider other types of community service, where feasible....
(f) The court may order any person ordered to perform community service or graffiti removal pursuant to paragraph (1) of subdivision (c) to undergo counseling. |
Community service | Misdemeanor | Yes |
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California | Cal. Pen. Code § 1465.7(f) | Proceedings in Misdemeanor and Infraction Cases: State surcharge; Transmittal to General Fund; Construction with Vehicle Code provisions |
When amounts owed by an offender as a result of a conviction are paid in installment payments, payments shall be credited pursuant to Section 1203.1d. The amount of the surcharge established by this section shall be transmitted to the State Treasury prior to the county retaining or disbursing the remaining amount of the fines, penalties, and forfeitures imposed.
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Payment plan/installment plan | All | No |
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California | Veh. Code § 42003(a) | Penalties - Public Offense: Payment of fines; Consideration of defendant’s ability to pay |
A judgment that a person convicted of an infraction be punished by a fine may also provide for the payment to be made within a specified time or in specified installments.
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Payment plan/installment plan | Traffic | No |
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California | Cal. Pen. Code § 1462.5 | Proceedings in Misdemeanor and Infraction Cases: Proration of fines, penalties, forfeitures, and fees |
Each installment or partial payment of a fine, penalty, forfeiture or fee shall be prorated among the state and local shares according to the uniform accounting system established by the State Controller pursuant to Section 71380 of the Government Code. In cases subject to Section 1463.18 of the Penal Code, proration shall not occur until the minimum amounts have been transferred to the Restitution Fund as provided in that section.
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Payment plan/installment plan | All | No |
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California | Cal. Pen. Code § 1463.010(f) | Proceedings in Misdemeanor and Infraction Cases: Enforcement of court orders; Guidelines for collection program; Annual report; Business license suspension program; Amnesty |
Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the Judicial Council, after consultation with the Franchise Tax Board with respect to collections under Section 19280 of the Revenue and Taxation Code, may provide for an amnesty program involving the collection of outstanding fees, fines, forfeitures, penalties, and assessments, applicable either statewide or within one or more counties. The amnesty program shall provide that some or all of the interest or collections costs imposed on outstanding fees, fines, forfeitures, penalties, and assessments may be waived if the remaining amounts due are paid within the amnesty period.
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Collection fee/interest | All | No |
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California | Cal. Rules of Court 4.435(b) | Sentencing on revocation of probation, mandatory supervision, and postrelease community supervision |
(b) On revocation and termination of probation under section 1203.2, when the sentencing judge determines that the defendant will be committed to prison or county jail under section 1170(h):(1) If the imposition of sentence was previously suspended, the judge must impose judgment and sentence after considering any findings previously made and hearing and determining the matters enumerated in rule 4.433(c).The length of the sentence must be based on circumstances existing at the time probation was granted, and subsequent events may not be considered in selecting the base term or in deciding whether to strike the additional punishment for enhancements charged and found.
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Incarceration | All | No |
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California | Cal. Pen. Code § 273a(c)(3)(B) | Endangering child or causing or permitting child to suffer physical pain, mental suffering, or injury; Conditions of probation |
(B) The terms of probation for offenders shall not be lifted until all reasonable fees due to the counseling program have been paid in full, but in no case shall probation be extended beyond the term provided in subdivision (a) of Section 1203.1. If the court finds that the defendant does not have the ability to pay the fees based on the defendant’s changed circumstances, the court may reduce or waive the fees.
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Condition or extension of supervision | Misdemeanor, Felony | No |
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California | Cal. Pen. Code § 1202.43(b) | Payment of restitution fine |
(b) A restitution fine shall be deemed a debt of the defendant owing to the state for the purposes of Sections 12418 and 12419.5 of the Government Code, excepting any amounts the defendant has paid to the victim as a result of the crime. Upon request by the Controller, the district attorney of a county or the Attorney General may take any necessary action to recover amounts owing on a restitution fine. The amount of the recovery shall be increased by a sum sufficient to cover any costs incurred by any state or local agency in the administration of this section. The remedies provided by this subdivision are in addition to any other remedies provided by law for the enforcement of a judgment.
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Collection fee/interest | Misdemeanor, Felony | No |
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California | Cal. Pen. Code § 1205(b) | Judgment imposing fine; Imprisonment pending payment; Default; Fee for processing accounts receivable; Limitation |
(b) Except as otherwise provided in case of fines imposed, as a condition of probation, the defendant shall pay the fine to the clerk of the court, or to the judge if there is no clerk, unless the defendant is taken into custody for nonpayment of the fine, in which event payments made while he or she is in custody shall be made to the officer who holds the defendant in custody, and all amounts paid shall be paid over by the officer to the court that rendered the judgment. The clerk shall report to the court every default in payment of a fine or any part of that fine, or if there is no clerk, the court shall take notice of the default. If time has been given for payment of a fine or it has been made payable in installments, the court shall, upon any default in payment, immediately order the arrest of the defendant and order him or her to show cause why he or she should not be imprisoned until the fine or installment is satisfied in full. If the fine or installment is payable forthwith and it is not paid, the court shall, without further proceedings, immediately commit the defendant to the custody of the proper officer to be held in custody until the fine or installment is satisfied in full.
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Incarceration | Misdemeanor, Felony | No |
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Utah | Utah Code Ann. § 77-38a-401 | Entry of judgment--Interest--Civil actions--Lien |
(1) Upon the court determining that a defendant owes restitution, the clerk of the court shall enter an order of complete restitution as defined in Section 77-38a-302 on the civil + See morejudgment docket and provide notice of the order to the parties. (2) The order shall be considered a legal judgment, enforceable under the Utah Rules of Civil Procedure. In addition, the department may, on behalf of the person in whose favor the restitution order is entered, enforce the restitution order as judgment creditor under the Utah Rules of Civil Procedure. (3) If the defendant fails to obey a court order for payment of restitution and the victim or department elects to pursue collection of the order by civil process, the victim shall be entitled to recover collection and reasonable attorney fees.
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Property liens | All | Yes |
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Utah | Utah Code Ann. § 77-18-6.5(2) | Liability of rescued person for costs of emergency response |
The judgment shall constitute a lien when recorded in the judgment docket and shall have the same effect and is subject to the same rules as a judgment for money + See morein a civil action.
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Property liens | All | Yes |
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Utah | Utah Code Ann. § 77-27-6 | Payment of restitution |
When the Board of Pardons and Parole orders the release on parole of an inmate who has been sentenced to make restitution pursuant to Title 77, Chapter 38a, Crime Victims + See moreRestitution Act, or whom the board has ordered to make restitution, and all or a portion of restitution is still owing, the board may establish a schedule, including both complete and court-ordered restitution, by which payment of the restitution shall be made
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Payment plan/installment plan | All | No |
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Utah | Utah Code Ann. § 76-3-201.1(b) | Collection of criminal judgments--installment plan |
Criminal judgment accounts receivable means any amount due the state arising from a criminal judgment for which payment has not been received by the state agency that is servicing the + See moredebt... The court may permit a defendant to pay a criminal judgment account receivable in installments.
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Payment plan/installment plan | 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--compulsory service |
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... (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...(f) except as limited by Subsection (6) [restitution], convert the criminal judgment account receivable or any part of it to compensatory service
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Community service | All | No |
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For more information, please visit cjpp.law.harvard.edu.