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
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- Civil judgment (0)
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- Payment plan/installment plan (2)
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- Wage/bank account garnishment (2)
- Work program/jail industry program (4)
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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.
20 Results
| State | Statute | Description/Statute Name | Statutory language | Type of poverty penalty or poverty trap | Level of offense | Mandatory | |
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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 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.
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Driver's license suspension/impoundment | All | No |
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Delaware | 11 Del. C. § 4104(c) | Fines, Costs or Restitution; How Collected; Holding Operator's License as Security for Payment |
Any court may, in its discretion, direct any person sentenced to pay a fine or restitution upon conviction of a crime, who is employed within this State or by a Delaware resident or employer, to execute an assignment of a specified periodic sum not to exceed 1/3 of the person's total earnings, which assignment shall direct the person's employer to withhold and remit that amount to this State up to the total of the fine, costs and restitution imposed.
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Wage/bank account garnishment | All | No |
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Delaware | 11 Del. C. § 4104(a)(1)-(2) | Fines, Costs or Restitution; How Collected; Holding Operator's License as Security for Payment |
When a court imposes a fine, costs or restitution upon a defendant, the court or justice of the peace may direct as follows:(1) That the defendant pay the entire amount at the time sentence is imposed; (2) That the defendant pay a specified portion of the fine, costs or restitution at designated periodic intervals, and in such case may direct that the fine, costs or restitution be remitted to a probation officer who shall report to the court, at such periods as the court may direct, any failure to comply with the orders; or
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Payment plan/installment plan | All | No |
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Delaware | 11 Del. C. § 4104(a)(3) | Fines, Costs or Restitution; How Collected; Holding Operator's License as Security for Payment |
(a) When a court imposes a fine, costs or restitution upon a defendant, the court or justice of the peace may direct as follows: . . . (3) Where the defendant is sentenced to a period of probation as well as fine, costs or restitution that payment of the fines, costs or restitution shall be a condition of the probation.
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Condition or extension of supervision | All | Yes |
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Delaware | 11 Del. C. § 4105(b)(1) | Default in Payment of Fine; Inability to Pay |
Where a person sentenced to pay a fine, costs, restitution or all 3, on conviction of a crime is unable or fails to pay such fine, costs, restitution or all 3, at the time of imposition of sentence or in accordance with the terms of payment set by the court, the court may order the person to report at any time to the Commissioner of the Department of Correction, or a person designated by the Commissioner, for work for a number and schedule of hours necessary to discharge the fine, costs or restitution imposed.
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Work program/jail industry program | All | No |
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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 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.
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Incarceration | All | No |
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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 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.
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Driver's license suspension/impoundment | All | Yes |
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Oklahoma | Okla. Stat. tit. 10A, § 1-4-701B | Reimbursements and costs by parents able to pay |
The court may order the terms and conditions of the payment of costs and expenses described in subsection A of this section. When any parent is financially able but has + See morewillfully failed to pay the costs and reimbursements as ordered by the court pursuant to this section, the parent may be held in indirect contempt of court and, upon conviction, shall be punished pursuant to Section 566 of Title 21 of the Oklahoma Statutes.
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Increased fine | All | No |
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Oklahoma | Okla. Stat. tit. 22, § 979a | Payment of jail costs by inmate |
The sheriff, municipality or other public entity responsible for the operation of the jail may collect costs of incarceration ordered by the court from the jail account of the inmate. + See moreIf the funds collected from the jail account of the inmate are insufficient to satisfy the actual incarceration costs ordered by the court, the sheriff, municipality or other public entity responsible for the operation of the jail is authorized to collect the remaining balance of the incarceration costs by civil action.
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Wage/bank account garnishment | All | No |
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Oklahoma | 22 Okl.St.Ann. § 456A | Bench warrant, fee for issuance of |
For the issuance of each bench warrant for a defendant's failure to pay court costs, fines, fees, or assessments in felony, misdemeanor, or traffic cases, the court clerk shall charge + See moreand collect a fee of Five Dollars ($5.00). The fee shall be included in the execution bond amount on the face of the bench warrant which is issued for the defendant's failure to pay and shall be in addition to the delinquent amount owed by the defendant. This fee shall be deposited in the court clerk's revolving fund pursuant to the provisions of Section 220 of Title 19 of the Oklahoma Statutes.
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Collection fee/interest | All | Yes |
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Oklahoma | 22 Okl.St.Ann. § 966A | Bench warrant, fee for issuance of |
For the issuance of each bench warrant for a defendant's failure to pay court costs, fines, fees, or assessments in felony, misdemeanor, or traffic cases, the court clerk shall charge + See moreand collect a fee of Five Dollars ($5.00). The fee shall be included in the execution bond amount on the face of the bench warrant which is issued for the defendant's failure to pay and shall be in addition to the delinquent amount owed by the defendant. This fee shall be deposited in the court clerk's revolving fund pursuant to the provisions of Section 220 of Title 19 of the Oklahoma Statutes.
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Collection fee/interest | All | Yes |
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Oklahoma | 22 Okl.St.Ann. § 983A | Imprisonment or recommendation of suspension of driving privileges for failure to pay fines, costs, fees, or assessments--Hearing--Installments |
Any defendant found guilty of an offense in any court of this state may be imprisoned for nonpayment of the fine, cost, fee, or assessment when the trial court finds + See moreafter notice and hearing that the defendant is financially able but refuses or neglects to pay the fine, cost, fee, or assessment. A sentence to pay a fine, cost, fee, or assessment may be converted into a jail sentence only after a hearing and a judicial determination, memorialized of record, that the defendant is able to satisfy the fine, cost, fee, or assessment by payment, but refuses or neglects so to do.
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Incarceration | All | No |
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Oklahoma | 22 Okl.St.Ann. § 983B | Imprisonment or recommendation of suspension of driving privileges for failure to pay fines, costs, fees, or assessments--Hearing--Installments |
After a judicial determination that the defendant is able to pay the fine, cost, fee, or assessment in installments, the court may order the fine, cost, fee, or assessment to + See morebe paid in installments and shall set the amount and date for each installment.
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Payment plan/installment plan | All | No |
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Oklahoma | 22 Okl.St.Ann. § 983C | Imprisonment or recommendation of suspension of driving privileges for failure to pay fines, costs, fees, or assessments--Hearing--Installments |
In addition, the district court or municipal court, within one hundred twenty (120) days from the date upon which the person was originally ordered to make payment, may send notice + See moreof nonpayment of any court ordered fine and costs for a moving traffic violation to the Department of Public Safety with a recommendation of suspension of driving privileges of the defendant until the total amount of any fine and costs has been paid. Upon receipt of payment of the total amount of the fine and costs for the moving traffic violation, the court shall send notice thereof to the Department, if a nonpayment notice was sent as provided for in this subsection. Notices sent to the Department shall be on forms or by a method approved by the Department.
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Driver's license suspension/impoundment | Traffic | No |
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Oklahoma | 11 Okl.St.Ann. § 14-111 | Enforcement and penalties for violation of municipal ordinances |
The governing body may provide that any person fined for violation of a municipal ordinance who is financially able but refuses or neglects to pay the fine or costs may + See morebe compelled to satisfy the amount owed by working on the streets, alleys, avenues, areas, and public grounds of the municipality, subject to the direction of the street commissioner or other proper officer, at a rate per day as the governing body may prescribe by ordinance, but not less than Fifty Dollars ($50.00) per day for useful labor, until the fine or costs are satisfied.
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Work program/jail industry program | Misdemeanor | No |
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Oklahoma | 11 Okl.St.Ann. § 28-124 | Imprisonment for nonpayment of fine and costs--Persons unable to pay |
Any person who shall be convicted in the municipal criminal court of record of a violation of any ordinance of the city and sentenced to pay a fine and costs, + See morewho is financially able but refuses or neglects to pay such fine and costs, shall be imprisoned in the jail, farm or workhouse of the city, in the discretion of the court, for one (1) day for each Twenty-five Dollars ($25.00) of the fine and cost assessed or one (1) day for each Fifty Dollars ($50.00) of the fine and cost assessed if the person performs useful labor. If the defendant is without means to pay the fine or costs, the municipal judge may direct the total amount due to be entered upon the court minutes and to be certified to the district court in the county where the situs of the municipal government is located where it shall be entered upon the district court judgment docket and shall have the full force and effect of a district court judgment. Thereupon, the same remedies shall be available for the enforcement of the judgment as are available to any other judgment creditor.
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Work program/jail industry program | Misdemeanor | No |
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Oklahoma | Okla. Stat. tit. 11, § 22-138 | Municipal collection agency contracts |
A governing body of a municipality that enters into a contract with a collection agency pursuant to this section may authorize the addition of a collection fee in an amount + See morenot to exceed thirty-five percent (35%) on each item described in subsection A of this section that has been referred by the municipality to the collection agency for collection. If a municipality enters into such contract with a collection agency and authorizes the collection fee, the court shall order defendants to reimburse the fee arising pursuant to paragraph 2 of subsection A of this section and such court-ordered fee may be collected as provided by law for the collection of any other civil debt or criminal action.
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Collection fee/interest | All | Yes |
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Oklahoma | Okla. Stat. tit. 57, § 58.3 | Sentence and fine or cost credits for prisoner labor |
Prisoners employed as provided herein shall be given a credit of two (2) days on a jail sentence for each day worked, and a credit of Fifty Dollars ($50.00) per + See moreday upon the payment of a fine or court cost, if sentenced for nonpayment of a fine or court cost. The sheriff shall be authorized to order the credit be given to the prisoner on the records of the court where the conviction of the prisoner is filed.
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Work program/jail industry program | All | Yes |
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Oklahoma | Okla. Stat. tit. 11, § 27-122 | Enforcement of payment of fines or costs by imprisonment--Persons unable to pay |
A. If a defendant who is financially able refuses or neglects to pay a fine or costs or both, payment may be enforced:1. By imprisonment until the same shall be + See moresatisfied at the rate of Twenty-five Dollars ($25.00) per day; or
2. In the same manner as is prescribed in subsection B of this section for a defendant who is without means to make such payment.
B. If the defendant is without means to pay the fine or costs, the municipal judge may direct the total amount due to be entered upon the court minutes and to be certified to the district court in the county where the situs of the municipal government is located, where it shall be entered upon the district court judgment docket and shall have the full force and effect of a district court judgment. The same remedies shall be available for the enforcement of the judgment as are available to any other judgment creditor.
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Incarceration | All | No |
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Oklahoma | Okla. Stat. tit. 11, § 28-123 | Execution of sentence--Modification, reduction or suspension--Probation--Deferred sentence |
. All sentences of imprisonment shall be executed by the chief of police of the city, and any person convicted of a violation of any ordinance of the city and + See moresentenced to imprisonment shall be confined in the jail, farm or workhouse, of the city, in the discretion of the court, for the time specified in the sentence. All persons who shall be convicted in the court of violation of any ordinance of the city and sentenced to pay a fine and costs, who shall refuse to pay such fine or costs, shall be imprisoned in the jail of the city for one (1) day for each Two Dollars ($2.00) of the fine and costs assessed.
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Incarceration | All | No |
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For more information, please visit cjpp.law.harvard.edu.