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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	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. § 4104(e)	Fines, Costs or Restitution; How Collected; Holding Operator's License as Security for Payment	Whenever any person lawfully possessed of an operator's license theretofore issued to the person by the Division of Motor Vehicles of the Department of Transportation of the State, or under + See more the laws of any other state or territory, or of the District of Columbia, shall be arrested and charged with any violation of the traffic or criminal laws of this State, or of any political subdivision thereof, a court, as a condition of sentencing, may take and hold, as security for the payment of any fine, costs, restitution or Victims Compensation Fund assessment, the operator's license so issued to the defendant.	Driver's license suspension/impoundment	All	No
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
Add to Dashboard + Create New	Delaware	21 Del. C. § 2732(b)	Mandatory Revocation or Suspension of License or Refusal to Renew or Issue a Duplicate License	Upon receiving a record of the failure of a convicted person to pay a fine, costs or both as described in § 2731(b) of this title, or to timely complete + See more a course of instruction pursuant to § 4175A or § 4177D of this title, the Department or its successor, shall: (1) If the convicted person is a resident of this State, forthwith suspend the convicted person's license until the fine, costs or both have been paid, or the court finds that the person has completed the necessary course of instruction and paid all applicable fees; and (2) If the convicted person is a nonresident of this State, forthwith suspend the convicted person's driving privileges in this State and immediately advise the Motor Vehicle Administrator of the state wherein the convicted person is a resident that the convicted person has failed to pay a fine, costs or both, or to timely complete a course of instruction pursuant to § 4175A or § 4177D of this title, and requesting that the convicted person's license to drive be suspended until the fine, costs or both have been paid, or the court finds that the person has completed the necessary course of instruction and paid all applicable fees.	Driver's license suspension/impoundment	All	Yes
Add to Dashboard + Create New	Kentucky	Ky. Rev. Stat. Ann. § 534.070(1)	Incarceration for failure to pay fine or court costs or failure to appear in court; daily credit against fine or court costs for time served; application of partial payment	(1) A defendant who has been sentenced to jail for failure to pay court costs, fees, or fines or for failure to appear in court on a date set for + See more the sole purpose of addressing nonpayment of court costs, fees, or fines shall receive credit against the court costs, fees, or fines owed for each day the defendant spends in jail . . .	Incarceration	All	No
Add to Dashboard + Create New	Kentucky	Ky. Rev. Stat. Ann. § 532.168	Show cause hearing for failure to comply with criminal garnishment order	If a garnishee fails to comply with the terms of the order of criminal garnishment within thirty (30) days after its issuance, the attorney for the Commonwealth may move the + See more court to order the garnishee to show cause why he should not be held in contempt. If the court finds that the failure was willful or grossly negligent, the court shall find the garnishee in contempt and shall award reasonable attorney's fees and costs, in addition to any contempt sanction it imposes.	Incarceration	All	No
Add to Dashboard + Create New	Mississippi	Miss. Code Ann. § 99-19-20 (2)	Incarceration	The defendant may be imprisoned until the fine is paid if the defendant is financially able to pay a fine and the court so finds, subject to the limitations hereinafter + See more set out.	Incarceration	All	No
Add to Dashboard + Create New	Mississippi	Miss. Code Ann. § 63-1-53 (1)	Driver's license suspension	Upon failure of any person to respond timely and properly to a summons or citation charging such person with any violation of this title, or upon failure of any person + See more to pay timely any fine, fee or assessment levied as a result of any violation of this title, the clerk of the court shall give written notice to such person by United States first-class mail at his last known address advising such person that, if within ten (10) days after such notice is deposited in the mail, the person has not properly responded to the summons or citation or has not paid the entire amount of all fines, fees and assessments levied, then the court will give notice thereof to the Commissioner of Public Safety and the commissioner may suspend the driver's license of such person.	Driver's license suspension/impoundment	Traffic	No
Add to Dashboard + Create New	Mississippi	Miss. Code Ann. § 99-37-5(2)	Payment and orders	(2) When a defendant sentenced to pay a fine or costs or ordered to make restitution is also placed on probation or imposition or execution of sentence is suspended, the + See more court may make payment of the fine or costs or the making of restitution a condition of probation or suspension of sentence. Such offenders shall make restitution payments directly to the victim. As an alternative to a contempt proceeding under Sections 99-37-7 through 99-37-13, the intentional refusal to obey the restitution order or a failure by a defendant to make a good faith effort to make such restitution may be considered a violation of the defendant's probation and may be cause for revocation of his probation or suspension of sentence.	Incarceration	All	No
Add to Dashboard + Create New	Mississippi	Miss. Code Ann. § 99-37-7(2)	Contempt for default	(2) Unless the defendant shows that his default was not attributable to an intentional refusal to obey the order of the court or to a failure on his part to + See more make a good faith effort to make the payment, the court may find that his default constitutes contempt and may order him committed until the fine or the restitution, or a specified part thereof, is paid.	Incarceration	All	No
Add to Dashboard + Create New	Mississippi	Miss. Code. Ann. § 63-1-51	Grounds for revocation or suspension	It shall be the duty of the court clerk, upon conviction of any person holding a license issued pursuant to this article where the penalty for a traffic violation is + See more as much as Ten Dollars ($10.00), to mail a copy of abstract of the court record or provide an electronically or computer generated copy of abstract of the court record immediately to the commissioner at Jackson, Mississippi, showing the date of conviction, penalty, etc., so that a record of same may be made by the Department of Public Safety. The commissioner shall forthwith revoke the license of any person for a period of one (1) year upon receiving a duly certified record of each person's convictions of any of the following offenses when such conviction has become final: . . . (f) Contempt for failure to pay a fine or fee or to respond to a summons or citation pursuant to a charge of a violation of this title.	Driver's license suspension/impoundment	All	Yes
Add to Dashboard + Create New	Mississippi	Miss. Code Ann. §97-33-1	Miss. Code Ann. §97-33-1	shall be fined in a sum not more than Five Hundred Dollars ($ 500.00); and, unless such fine and costs be immediately paid, shall be imprisoned for any period not + See more more than ninety (90) days	Incarceration	Misdemeanor	Yes
Add to Dashboard + Create New	Mississippi	Miss. Code Ann. §97-33-11	Miss. Code Ann. §97-33-11	shall be fined in a sum not more than five hundred dollars; and unless such fine and costs be immediately paid, shall be imprisoned in the county jail for not + See more less than five nor more than twenty days	Incarceration	Misdemeanor	Yes
Add to Dashboard + Create New	Mississippi	Miss. Code Ann. §97-35-41	Miss. Code Ann. §97-35-41	in addition to being committed to jail is herein provided, such person shall also pay all costs, and shall stand committed until same is paid	Incarceration	Misdemeanor	Yes
Add to Dashboard + Create New	Mississippi	Miss. Code Ann. §47-7-49 (2)	Miss. Code Ann. §47-7-49 (2)	The offender may be imprisoned until the payments are made if the offender is financially able to make the payments and the court in the county where the offender resides + See more so finds	Incarceration	Misdemeanor	No

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