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
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Hawaii Haw. Rev. Stat. § 706-644(1) Consequences of nonpayment; imprisonment for contumacious nonpayment; summary collection

(1) When a defendant is sentenced pursuant to section 706-605, granted a conditional discharge pursuant to section 712-1255, or granted a deferred plea pursuant to chapter 853, and the defendant

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is ordered to pay a fee, fine, or restitution, whether as an independent order, as part of a judgment and sentence, or as a condition of probation or deferred plea, and the defendant defaults in the payment thereof or of any installment, the court, upon the motion of the prosecuting attorney or upon its own motion, may require the defendant to show cause why the defendant's default should not be treated as contumacious and may issue a summons or a warrant of arrest for the defendant's appearance. Unless the defendant shows that the defendant's 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 a good faith effort to obtain the funds required for the payment, the court shall find that the defendant's default was contumacious and may order the defendant committed until the fee, fine, restitution, or a specified part thereof is paid.

Incarceration All No
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Hawaii Haw. Rev. Stat. § 706-644(3) Consequences of nonpayment; imprisonment for contumacious nonpayment; summary collection

(3) The term of imprisonment for nonpayment of fee, fine, or restitution shall be specified in the order of commitment, and shall not exceed one day for each $25 of

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the fee or fine, thirty days if the fee or fine was imposed upon conviction of a violation or a petty misdemeanor, or one year in any other case, whichever is the shorter period. A person committed for nonpayment of a fee or fine shall be given credit toward payment of the fee or fine for each day of imprisonment, at the rate of $25 per day.

Incarceration All No
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South Carolina S.C. Code Ann. § 17-25-340. Incarceration
If the sheriff or his deputy return on oath that such offender refused to pay or has not any property or not sufficient whereon to levy, then a writ of
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capias ad satisfaciendum shall issue whereby he shall be committed to the common jail, until the forfeiture, costs and charges shall be satisfied. Such offender shall be entitled, however, to the privilege of insolvent debtors.
Incarceration All Yes
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South Carolina S.C. Code Ann. § 17-25-350. Contempt/incarceration
Failure to comply with the payment schedule shall constitute contempt of court; however, imprisonment for contempt may not exceed the amount of time of the original sentence, and where part
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of the fine has been paid the imprisonment cannot exceed the remaining pro rata portion of the sentence.
Incarceration All Yes
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South Carolina S.C. Code Ann. § 24-21-100 civil contempt
(A) Notwithstanding the provisions of Section 24-19-120, 24-21-440, 24-21-560(B), or 24-21-670, when an individual has not fulfilled the individual's obligations for payment of financial obligations by the end of the
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individual's term of supervision, then the individual shall be placed under quarterly administrative monitoring, as defined in Section 24-21-5, by the department until such time as those financial obligations are paid in full or a consent order of judgment is filed. If the individual under administrative monitoring fails to make reasonable progress toward the payment of such financial obligations, as determined by the department, the department may petition the court to hold an individual in civil contempt for failure to pay the financial obligations. The department shall provide written notice of the petition and any scheduled contempt hearing by depositing the notice in the United States mail with postage prepaid addressed to the person at the address contained in the records of the department. The giving of notice by mail is complete ten days after the deposit of the notice. A certificate by the director of the department or the director's designee that the notice has been sent as required in this section is presumptive proof that the requirements as to notice of petition and any scheduled contempt hearing have been met even if the notice has not been received by the offender. If the court finds the individual has the ability to pay but has not made reasonable progress toward payment, the court may hold the individual in civil contempt of court and may impose a term of confinement in the local detention center until payment of the financial obligations, but in no case to exceed ninety days of confinement. Following any term of confinement, the individual shall be returned to quarterly administrative monitoring by the department. If the individual under administrative monitoring does not have the ability to pay the financial obligations and has no reasonable likelihood of being able to pay in the future, the department may submit a consent order of judgment to the court, which shall relieve the individual of any further administrative monitoring.
Incarceration All Yes