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Poverty Penalties and Poverty Traps

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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	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	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 + See more 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.	Work program/jail industry program	All	No
Add to Dashboard + Create New	South Dakota	S.D. Codified Laws § 23A-40-11	Lien for cost of provision of counsel — Limitation	A lien, enforceable as provided by this chapter, upon all the property, both real and personal, of any person, including the parents of a minor child, for whom legal counsel + See more or a public defender has been appointed under the provisions of § 23A-40-6, subdivisions 23A-40-7(2) and (3), or § 26-7A-31 may be filed. The services rendered and expenses incurred are a claim against the person and that person's estate, enforceable according to law in an amount to be determined by a judge of the circuit court or a magistrate judge and paid by the county or municipality chargeable for them. A lien on the parents of a minor child pursuant to this section may not exceed one thousand five hundred dollars plus an amount equal to any taxable court costs.	Property liens	All	No
Add to Dashboard + Create New	Washington	Wash. Rev. Code Ann. § 10.82.010	Execution for fines and costs	Upon a judgment for fine and costs, and for all adjudged costs, execution shall be issued against the property of the defendant, and returned in the same manner as in + See more civil actions.	Property liens	All	No
Add to Dashboard + Create New	Washington	Wash. Rev. Code Ann. § 10.82.040	Commitment for failure to pay fine and costs--Reduction of amount by performance of labor	When a defendant is committed to jail, on failure to pay any fines and costs, he or she shall, under the supervision of the county sheriff and subject to the + See more terms of any ordinances adopted by the county commissioners, be permitted to perform labor to reduce the amount owing of the fine and costs.	Work program/jail industry program	All	No
Add to Dashboard + Create New	Washington	Wash. Rev. Code Ann. § 7.68.120(2)	Reimbursement — Restitution to victim — Notice — Fees — Order to withhold and deliver — Limitation	(2) (a) The department may issue a notice of debt due and owing to the person found to have committed the criminal act, and shall serve the notice on the person in + See more the manner prescribed for the service of a summons in a civil action or by certified mail. The department shall file the notice of debt due and owing along with proof of service with the superior court of the county where the criminal act took place. The person served the notice shall have thirty days from the date of service to respond to the notice by requesting a hearing in superior court. (b) If a person served a notice of debt due and owing fails to respond within thirty days, the department may seek a default judgment. Upon entry of a judgment in an action brought pursuant to (a) of this subsection, the clerk shall enter the order in the execution docket. The filing fee shall be added to the amount of the debt indicated in the judgment. The judgment shall become a lien upon all real and personal property of the person named in the judgment as in other civil cases. The judgment shall be subject to execution, garnishment, or other procedures for collection of a judgment.	Civil judgment, Property liens, Wage/bank account garnishment	All	No
Add to Dashboard + Create New	Wyoming	Wyo. Stat. Ann. § 7-16-101	Persons subject to required work	(a) The sentencing court may require the following persons to perform work pursuant to W.S. 7-16-101 through 7-16-104: (i) Persons sentenced to a definite term of imprisonment in the county jail, + See more whether or not a fine is imposed as a part of the sentence; (ii) Persons committed to jail pursuant to W.S. 6-10-105 for refusal to pay a fine or costs; and (iii) Persons for whom work is imposed as a condition of probation pursuant to W.S. 7-13-304(b). (b) No person charged with a crime and awaiting the action of the grand jury or awaiting trial shall be required to perform work pursuant to W.S. 7-16-101 through 7-16-104.	Condition or extension of supervision, Work program/jail industry program	All	No
Add to Dashboard + Create New	Wyoming	Wyo. Stat. Ann. § 7-16-104	Labor by prisoners. County jail. Credits.	7-16-104. Credits. (a) The sentencing court may reduce the term of a sentence, fine, costs or attorney fees of a prisoner sentenced to imprisonment or placed on probation, for work + See more performed under W.S. 7-16-101 through 7-16-104. (b) If a reduction is ordered pursuant to subsection (a) of this section, the reduction shall be: (i) At the rate of one (1) day for each eight (8) hours of work performed under W.S. 7-16-101 through 7-16-104, provided the reduction in sentence shall not exceed one-half (1/2) of the original sentence; (ii) In an amount equal to the federal minimum hourly wage for each hour of work performed provided that the total amount of reduction in the fine, costs or attorney fees shall not exceed one-half (1/2) of the total amount of the fine, costs and attorney fees. (c) The court shall direct whether the credits under subsection (b) of this section shall apply against the prisoner's term of imprisonment, his fine, court costs, attorney fees or other fees imposed by the court. (d) A person committed to county jail for refusal to pay a fine or costs shall, in addition to the credit allowed by W.S. 6-10-105, be granted a credit against his fine or costs in an amount equal to the federal minimum hourly wage for each hour of work performed.	Work program/jail industry program	All	Yes
Add to Dashboard + Create New	Wyoming	Wyo. Stat. Ann. § 6-6-207	Assessment of tax when permanent injunction issues; collection; continuing liability for other penalties	Whenever a permanent injunction issues against any person for maintaining a nuisance or against the owner or agent of any building kept or used for the purposes prohibited by this + See more article, there shall be assessed against the building and the ground upon which it is located and against the person or persons maintaining the nuisance, and the owner or agent of the premises, a tax of three hundred dollars ($300.00). The assessment of the tax shall be made by the assessor of the county in which the nuisance exists and shall be made within three (3) months from the date of granting of the permanent injunction. If the assessor fails or neglects to make the assessment, it shall be made by the sheriff of the county and a return of the assessment shall be made to the county treasurer. The tax may be enforced and collected in the manner prescribed for the collection of taxes under the general revenue laws and shall be a perpetual lien upon all property, both personal and real used for the purpose of maintaining the nuisance. The payment of the tax does not relieve the person or building from any other penalties provided by law and when collected shall be applied and distributed in the manner prescribed by law for the application and distribution of monies arising from the collection of fines and penalties in criminal cases.	Collection fee/interest, Property liens	All	Yes
Add to Dashboard + Create New	Wyoming	Wyo. Stat. Ann. § 7-13-109(b),(c)	Payment of jail costs by inmate	(b) An order to pay room and board costs under this section shall be included as a special order in the judgment of conviction. To satisfy the order, the clerk + See more of the sentencing court, upon request of the sheriff or prosecuting attorney, may issue execution against any assets of the defendant including wages subject to attachment, in the same manner as in a civil action. (c) Willful failure or refusal to pay costs ordered under this section is punishable as contempt of court.	Incarceration, Property liens, Wage/bank account garnishment	All	No
Add to Dashboard + Create New	Wyoming	Wyo. Stat. Ann. § 5-6-211	Working prisoners; credit for work done	Whenever the defendant is sentenced to imprisonment for the violation of a city ordinance, he may be put to work for the benefit of the city, if it is determined + See more that adequate supervision is available, for the term of his imprisonment, and when committed for the nonpayment of a fine, or costs, for the violation of any ordinance, he may also be put to work for the benefit of the city, and shall be credited on such fine and costs, fifteen dollars ($15.00) per day for each day he shall work.	Work program/jail industry program	All	No

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