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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. § 8709	Neglect or Refusal to Pay Fees; Penalty	Whoever neglects or refuses to pay the fees provided for in §§ 8707 and 8708 of this title, for any service performed within 10 days after written demand from the officer + See more to whom such fees are due, shall be fined $ 10 besides costs of suit.	Increased fine	All	Yes
Add to Dashboard + Create New	Delaware	11 Del. C. § 4104(b)	Fines, Costs or Restitution; How Collected; Holding Operator's License as Security for Payment	The bond shall contain a warrant of attorney authorizing the Prothonotary or any attorney of record in this State or elsewhere to appear in any court, including a justice of + See more the peace, and confess judgment against the person so bound. Upon execution of the bond the convicted person shall be required to list on the reverse thereof all motor vehicles and real property owned by the person or in which the person has any title or interest with a description and the location thereof.	Property liens	All	No
Add to Dashboard + Create New	Massachusetts	Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 276, § 31	Default Warrant for Failure to Pay — Additional Fees — Payment to Court's Administrative Office.	Whenever a court issues a default warrant solely due to the person’s failure to pay a fine, assessment, court cost, restitution, support payment or other amount as ordered by the + See more court or required by law, the court shall specify the amount owed, including an additional assessment of $50 which assessment may be waived by the court upon a finding of good cause or upon a finding that such an assessment would cause a substantial financial hardship to the person, the person’s immediate family or the person’s dependents, with a statement that the warrant against the person may be discharged upon payment of the amount and the assessment, if any, and shall note the same in the warrant management system. The administrative office of the trial court shall accept payment of such fine, assessment, court cost, restitution, support payment or other amount as ordered by the court, along with any assessment, to be remitted by mail, telephone or other electronic means, in any form deemed acceptable by the trial court. Upon receipt of payment, the warrant against the person shall be discharged, the discharge shall be noted in the warrant management system and the individual shall receive notice of the discharge within seven days.	Incarceration, Increased fine	All	Yes
Add to Dashboard + Create New	Massachusetts	Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 276, § 32	Default Warrant for Failure to Pay — Additional Fees — Payment of Person Before Court.	Whenever a person, brought before a court, against whom an outstanding warrant was issued, solely due to the failure of the person brought before the court to pay a fine + See more assessment, court cost, restitution, support payment, or other amount, the court may accept payment of such amount and assess an additional fifty dollars which assessment may be waived by the court upon a finding of good cause and if the person is not being held on other process, the court may direct that the person be released from custody and shall notify the jurisdiction in which the warrant was issued of the payment and the assessment, if any. Upon notice of the release the court that issued the warrant shall recall the warrant and cause such information to be entered in the warrant management system.	Incarceration, Increased fine	All	No
Add to Dashboard + Create New	Massachusetts	Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 270, § 16	Disposal of Refuse on Highways, Public Land, Private Property, or in Coastal or Inland Waters.	If a motor vehicle is used in committing such an offense where the offense involves the unlawful disposal of more than seven cubic feet of trash, bottles or cans, refuse, + See more rubbish, garbage, debris scrap, waste or any other materials and the motor vehicle is observed while the offense is in progress by an officer authorized to enforce this section, the officer may seize the vehicle and remove and store it or otherwise immobilize it by a mechanical device until (1) payment is made to the enforcing authority of a fine set by such enforcing authority up to the maximum fine which may be imposed under this section, (2) the illegally disposed of material is removed and legally disposed of, and (3) payment is made to the enforcing authority of its reasonable towing and storage charges, if any, for the seized vehicle. If, after payment of the above fine and towing and storage charges, the use of the seized vehicle is necessary to dispose of the material, the enforcing authority shall release the seized vehicle upon the posting of security sufficient to pay for the cost of legal disposal of the material...If a motor vehicle is used in committing such an offense, a conviction under this section shall forthwith be reported by the court to the registrar of motor vehicles, and the registrar may suspend the license of the operator of such vehicle for not more than thirty days, and if it appears from the records of the registrar of motor vehicles that the person so convicted is the owner of the motor vehicle so used, the registrar may suspend the certificate of registration of said vehicle for thirty days.	Property liens	Misdemeanor	No
Add to Dashboard + Create New	Massachusetts	Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 280, § 6	Expenses of Prosecution — When Paid by Defendant.	Costs shall not be imposed by a justice as a penalty for a crime. A justice may, as a condition of the dismissal or placing on file of a complaint + See more or indictment, or as a term of probation, order the defendant to pay the reasonable and actual expenses of the prosecution. A justice may impose reasonable costs as a result of a default by a criminal defendant that was intentional or negligent and without good cause.	Increased fine	All	No
Add to Dashboard + Create New	Massachusetts	Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 211D, § 2A(g)	Proof of Indigency Required.	The court may authorize a person for whom counsel was appointed to perform community service in lieu of payment of the counsel fee. A person seeking to work off a + See more counsel fee in community service shall perform 10 hours of community service, in a community service program administered by the administrative office of the trial court, for each $100 owed in legal counsel fees, which may be prorated. Notwithstanding any general or special law to the contrary, a court proceeding shall not be terminated and the person shall not be discharged if the person owes any portion of the legal counsel fee imposed by this section. The clerk shall not release any bail posted on such court proceeding until the legal counsel fee is satisfied in accordance with this chapter.	Community service, Property liens	All	No
Add to Dashboard + Create New	Nebraska	Neb. Rev. Stat. § 29-2206.01	Fine and costs; payment of installments; violation; penalty	Installments provided for in section 29-2206 shall be paid pursuant to the order entered by the court or magistrate. Any person who fails to comply with the terms of such order shall + See more be liable for punishment for contempt, unless such person has the leave of the court or magistrate in regard to such noncompliance or such person requests a hearing pursuant to section 29-2412 and establishes at such hearing that he or she is financially unable to pay.	Incarceration, Increased fine	All	Yes
Add to Dashboard + Create New	Nebraska	(2)Neb. Rev. Stat. § 28-1011	Violations; liability for expenses	Even if reimbursement for expenses is not ordered under subsection (1) of this section, the defendant shall be liable for all unreimbursed expenses incurred by a public or private agency + See more in conjunction with the care, impoundment, seizure, or disposal of an animal. The expenses shall be a lien upon the animal.	Property liens	All	No

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