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Poverty Penalties and Poverty Traps

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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.

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	State	Statute	Description/Statute Name	Statutory language	Type of poverty penalty or poverty trap	Level of offense	Mandatory
Add to Dashboard + Create New	Connecticut	Conn. Gen. Stat. § 18-63	Commitment for failure to pay a fine	Upon any conviction for a crime, if the convict fails to pay any fine lawfully imposed, he shall be committed to a community correctional center until such fine is paid.	Incarceration	All	Yes
Add to Dashboard + Create New	Connecticut	Conn. Gen. Stat. § 52-399	Commitment of debtor for contempt.	Any judge before whom any such examination is ordered may commit the judgment debtor for contempt in case of his neglect or refusal to attend or be sworn at the + See more examination or to answer any question put to him during the examination, and any such neglect or refusal, if the examination is ordered or had before a committee, may be by such committee reported to the judge by whom he was appointed, which judge may thereupon proceed for the contempt as fully as if the examination had been ordered or had before himself.	Incarceration	All	No
Add to Dashboard + Create New	Connecticut	Conn. Gen. Stat. § 18-50(a)(1)	Credit against unpaid fine for time spent in confinement, employed or performing community service	(a)(1) Except as provided in subdivision (2) of this subsection, each person committed to any community correctional center upon conviction of any criminal offense, and held therein only for the + See more payment of a fine, shall be discharged from confinement when the time served by such person at a per diem rate equal to the average daily cost of incarceration as determined by the Commissioner of Correction amounts to such fine or the balance thereof remaining unpaid. Such person shall earn an additional credit of fifty dollars toward such fine or balance thereof remaining unpaid for each day such person is employed at productive or maintenance work and has established a satisfactory work record. In computing the number of days to be served, credit shall be given for Sundays, holidays and the day of admission. Each person so committed shall be released during the day following that which completes the time to be served when computed in accordance with this subdivision, or immediately upon payment of the fine in full.	Incarceration	All	Yes
Add to Dashboard + Create New	Delaware	10 Del. C. § 8603(b);(c)	Nonpayment of Costs	(b) If there has been no former citation for contempt, the term of imprisonment for contempt for the nonpayment of defense costs shall be set forth in the commitment order, + See more and shall not exceed 1 day for each $ 25 of the full amount. In no event shall imprisonment exceed 30 days if the fine was imposed upon conviction of a violation or misdemeanor. In all other cases, the court may impose a term of imprisonment not to exceed 1 year. A person committed for nonpayment shall be given credit toward payment for each day of imprisonment at the rate specified in the commitment order. (c) Upon a second or subsequent citation for contempt and 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 good faith effort to make the payment, the court may find that such default constitutes contempt and may order the defendant committed until the payment, or a specified part thereof, is paid.	Incarceration	All	No
Add to Dashboard + Create New	Delaware	10 Del. C. § 8603(e)	Nonpayment of Costs	A default in the payment of defense costs or any installment thereof may be collected by any means authorized by law for the enforcement of a judgment. The levy of + See more execution for the collection of such payment shall not discharge a defendant committed for imprisonment for contempt until the full amount of the fine has actually been collected. The court shall have the power to pursue civil enforcement to obtain the money due on behalf of the State, and to also pursue criminal remedies when civil means are not effective.	Incarceration	All	No
Add to Dashboard + Create New	Delaware	4 Del. C. § 902	Offenses Carrying Penalty of Fine of $500 to $1,000 or Imprisonment for 3 to 6 Months on Failure to Pay Fine	In addition to payment of costs, be fined not less than $500 nor more than $1,000, and, on failure to pay such fine and costs, shall be imprisoned not less + See more than 3 nor more than 6 months. Justices of the peace shall have original jurisdiction to hear, try, and finally determine alleged violations of this section.	Incarceration	Misdemeanor	Yes
Add to Dashboard + Create New	Delaware	11 Del. C. § 4105(d)	Default in Payment of Fine; Inability to Pay	Notwithstanding subsection (a) of this section, where a defendant sentenced to be imprisoned is ordered to pay a fine, costs, restitution or all 3, the court may order an additional + See more sentence of imprisonment in lieu of requiring the payment of the fine, costs, restitution or all 3; provided, however, that this additional sentence of imprisonment may not exceed 30 days, to be served concurrently or consecutively with the sentence originally imposed, as the court may order.	Incarceration	All	No

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