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Poverty Penalties and Poverty Traps
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See all poverty penalty and poverty trap policy recommendations in CJPP’s Policy Guide
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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.
30 Results
| State | Statute | Description/Statute Name | Statutory language | Type of poverty penalty or poverty trap | Level of offense | Mandatory | |
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Illinois | 730 Ill. Comp. Stat. 5/5-6-3(a)(7) | Conditions of probation and of conditional discharge |
(7) if he or she is at least 17 years of age and has been sentenced to probation or conditional discharge for a misdemeanor or felony in a county of 3,000,000 or more inhabitants and has not been previously convicted of a misdemeanor or felony, may be required by the sentencing court to attend educational courses designed to prepare the defendant for a high school diploma and to work toward a high school diploma or to work toward passing high school equivalency testing or to work toward completing a vocational training program approved by the court. The person on probation or conditional discharge must attend a public institution of education to obtain the educational or vocational training required by this paragraph (7). The court shall revoke the probation or conditional discharge of a person who wilfully fails to comply with this paragraph (7). The person on probation or conditional discharge shall be required to pay for the cost of the educational courses or high school equivalency testing if a fee is charged for those courses or testing.
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Condition or extension of supervision | All | Yes |
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Illinois | 730 Ill. Comp. Stat. 5/5-6-3(i) | Conditions of probation and of conditional discharge |
(i) The court shall impose upon an offender sentenced to probation after January 1, 1989 or to conditional discharge after January 1, 1992 or to community service under the supervision of a probation or court services department after January 1, 2004, as a condition of such probation or conditional discharge or supervised community service, a fee of $50 for each month of probation or conditional discharge supervision or supervised community service ordered by the court, unless after determining the inability of the person sentenced to probation or conditional discharge or supervised community service to pay the fee, the court assesses a lesser fee.
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Condition or extension of supervision | All | Yes |
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Illinois | 730 ILCS 5/5-6-3(b)(10)(iv) | Conditions of probation and of conditional discharge |
(iv) for persons convicted of any alcohol, cannabis or controlled substance violation who are placed on an approved monitoring device as a condition of probation or conditional discharge, the court shall impose a reasonable fee for each day of the use of the device, as established by the county board in subsection (g) of this Section, unless after determining the inability of the offender to pay the fee, the court assesses a lesser fee or no fee as the case may be.
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Condition or extension of supervision | All | Yes |
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Illinois | 730 Ill. Comp. Stat. 5/5-9-3(a)-(b) | Fines: Default |
(a) An offender who defaults in the payment of a fine or any installment of that fine may be held in contempt and imprisoned for nonpayment. The court may issue a summons for his appearance or a warrant of arrest.
(b) Unless the offender shows that his default was not due to his intentional refusal to pay, or not due to a failure on his part to make a good faith effort to pay, the court may order the offender imprisoned for a term not to exceed 6 months if the fine was for a felony, or 30 days if the fine was for a misdemeanor, a petty offense or a business offense. Payment of the fine at any time will entitle the offender to be released, but imprisonment under this Section shall not satisfy the payment of the fine. |
Incarceration | All | No |
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Missouri | Mo. Ann. Stat. § 559.016(3) | Terms of probation - extension |
The court may extend a period of probation, however, no more than one extension of any probation may be ordered except that the court may extend the total time on probation by one additional year by order of the court if the defendant admits he or she has violated the conditions of his or her probation or is found by the court to have violated the conditions of his or her probation.
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Condition or extension of supervision | All | No |
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Missouri | Mo. Ann. Stat. § 559.021(2)(1) | Conditions of probation--compensation of victims--free work, public or charitable--defendant not an employee for workers’ compensation purposes--payment to county restitution fund, when |
In addition to such other authority as exists to order conditions of probation, the court may order such conditions as the court believes will serve to compensate the victim, any dependent of the victim, any statutorily created fund for costs incurred as a result of the offender's actions, or society. Such conditions may include restorative justice methods pursuant to section 217.777, or any other method that the court finds just or appropriate including, but not limited to: (1) Restitution to the victim or any dependent of the victim, or statutorily created fund for costs incurred as a result of the offender's actions in an amount to be determined by the judge.
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Condition or extension of supervision | All | No |
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Missouri | Mo. Ann. Stat. § 476.120 | Punishment for contempt |
Punishment for contempt may be by fine or imprisonment in the jail of the county where the court may be sitting, or both, in the discretion of the court. |
Incarceration, Increased fine | All | No |
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Missouri | Mo. Ann. Stat. § 488.020 | Collection of court costs, when, how |
Upon notification to the party from whom the fee is due, a failure to pay the fee after such notice, and a showing of the party's ability to pay the fee, the court may hold the party in contempt.
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Incarceration, Increased fine, Other | All | No |
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Missouri | Mo. Rev. Stat. § 488.020(3)-(4) | Collection of court costs, when, how |
The supreme court may provide by rule for imposition of interest on any court costs not paid within thirty days of when due. If any court cost is not paid when due, the following actions may be taken:
(3) Upon notification to the party from whom the court cost is due, and upon failure to pay the fee after such notice, the court may inform the office of administration of any delinquencies in excess of twenty-five dollars. Upon receiving such notice, and without further notice by the office of administration to the defaulting party, the office of administration shall deduct the amount of unpaid court costs from any payment by the state to the defaulting party under any provision of law. The office of administration shall transmit the amount set off to the court, and shall send the excess amount to the payee, with a notice that the remainder of the refund was transmitted to the court in satisfaction of all or part of the unpaid court costs. The office of administration and its officials and employees shall not be liable to any person for any action taken in accordance with the requirements of this subdivision. Any proceeding contesting any action taken by a court or the office of administration pursuant to this subdivision shall be brought in the court which certified such unpaid fees to the office of administration, and shall be deemed ancillary to the proceeding for which such unpaid fees were assessed. No appearance, responsive pleading or discovery shall be due from the office of administration in such proceeding except upon order of the court; (4) Upon notification to the party from whom the fee is due, a failure to pay the fee after such notice, and a showing of the party's ability to pay the fee, the court may hold the party in contempt.
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Collection fee/interest, Incarceration, Increased fine, Other, Wage/bank account garnishment | All | No |
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Missouri | Mo. Const. Art. 1, § 11 | Imprisonment for debt |
That no person shall be imprisoned for debt, except for nonpayment of fines and penalties imposed by law. |
Incarceration | All | No |
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Missouri | Mo. Ann. Stat. § 600.093 | Probation, payment for services may be condition |
The court may require a defendant to repay all or a part of the value of the legal services rendered by the state public defender system as a condition of probation.
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Condition or extension of supervision | All | No |
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Missouri | Mo. Ann. Stat. § 558.006(5) | Response to nonpayment |
Upon default in the payment of a fine or any installment thereof, the fine may be collected by any means authorized for the enforcement of money judgments. |
Incarceration, Property liens, Wage/bank account garnishment | All | No |
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Missouri | Mo. Ann. Stat. § 545.02 | Recovery of fine or forfeiture, how |
Whenever a fine, penalty or forfeiture is or may be inflicted by any statute of this state for any offense, the same may be recovered by indictment or information, notwithstanding another or different remedy for the recovery of the same may be specified in the law imposing the fine, penalty or forfeiture; provided, that in all cases the fine, penalty or forfeiture shall go to the state, county, corporation, person or persons to whom the law imposing the same declares it shall accrue.
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Incarceration, Increased fine | All | No |
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Missouri | Mo. Ann. Stat. § 559.105 | Restitution may be ordered for tampering and stealing offenses--limitation on release from probation--payment |
1. Any person who has been found guilty of or has pled guilty to an offense may be ordered by the court to make restitution to the victim for the victim's losses due to such offense. Restitution pursuant to this section shall include, but not be limited to a victim's reasonable expenses to participate in the prosecution of the crime.
2. No person ordered by the court to pay restitution pursuant to this section shall be released from probation until such restitution is complete. If full restitution is not made within the original term of probation, the court shall order the maximum term of probation allowed for such offense. 3. Any person eligible to be released on parole shall be required, as a condition of parole, to make restitution pursuant to this section. The board of probation and parole shall not release any person from any term of parole for such offense until the person has completed such restitution, or until the maximum term of parole for such offense has been served. 4. The court may set an amount of restitution to be paid by the defendant. Said amount may be taken from the inmate's account at the department of corrections while the defendant is incarcerated. Upon conditional release or parole, if any amount of such court-ordered restitution is unpaid, the payment of the unpaid balance may be collected as a condition of conditional release or parole by the prosecuting attorney or circuit attorney under section 559.100. The prosecuting attorney or circuit attorney may refer any failure to make such restitution as a condition of conditional release or parole to the parole board for enforcement. |
Condition or extension of supervision | All | No |
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Missouri | Mo. Rev. Stat. § 600.089 | Parolees to pay for representation, when |
If the public defender commission has obtained a judgment against an offender in the custody of the department of corrections, and the offender is later paroled and becomes financially able to pay all or some part of such judgment, he shall be required, as a condition of his continued parole, to pay over to the public defender commission such amounts as he can reasonably pay, either by a single payment or by installments of reasonable amounts, in accordance with the schedule of charges for public defender services prepared pursuant to section 600.090.
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Condition or extension of supervision | All | No |
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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 | 28 Okl.St.Ann. § 101 | Fees and costs in criminal cases part of penalty--Enforcement by imprisonment--Persons unable to pay |
The fees herein provided for the clerk of the district court and the sheriff, as provided in this act, and all costs in the prosecution of all criminal actions shall, + See morein case of conviction of the defendant, be adjudged a part of the penalty of the offense of which the defendant may be convicted, whether the punishment for such offense be either imprisonment, or fine, or both, and fixed either by the verdict of the jury, or judgment of the court, trying the case, and if the defendant shall refuse to pay the fine, fees or costs, the payment of such fees and costs, in addition to the payment of the fine assessed, shall be enforced by imprisonment until the same shall be satisfied at a rate of Twenty-five Dollars ($25.00) per day of such fees and costs, or fine, or both, or shall be satisfied at a rate of Fifty Dollars ($50.00) per day of such fees and costs, or fine, or both, should the defendant perform useful labor. If the defendant is without means to pay the fine, fees or costs, the total amount owed shall be entered upon the judgment docket and thereupon the same remedies shall be available for the enforcement of said judgment as are available to any other judgment creditor.The term all costs in the prosecution of all criminal actions, as used in this section, shall include only the following taxable items:
1. Court clerk's costs and fees authorized by statute;
2. Sheriff's fees;
3. Fees and mileage of witnesses; and
4. Cost deposits in the appellate court, whether on appeal, in an original proceeding or in any postconviction challenge, if waived on the basis of a pauper's affidavit.
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Incarceration | 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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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, 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.
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Condition or extension of supervision, Work program/jail industry program | All | No |
The Criminal Justice Debt Reform Builder is a project of the National Criminal Justice Debt Initiative of the Criminal Justice Policy Program at Harvard Law School in collaboration with the Berkman Klein Center for Internet & Society at Harvard University and with user experience design by metaLAB (at) Harvard.
For more information, please visit cjpp.law.harvard.edu.