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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.
21 Results
State | Statute | Description/Statute Name | Statutory language | Type of poverty penalty or poverty trap | Level of offense | Mandatory | |
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Iowa | Iowa Code § 909.5 | Nonpayment of fines and court costs — contempt |
A person who is able to pay a fine, court-imposed court costs for a criminal proceeding, or both, or an installment of the fine or the court-imposed court costs, or both, and who refuses to do so, or who fails to make a good faith effort to pay the fine, court costs, or both, or any installment thereof, shall be held in contempt of court.
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Incarceration | All | Yes |
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Iowa | Iowa Code § 665.4 | Contempts: Punishment |
The punishment for contempt, where not otherwise specifically provided, shall be: 1. In the supreme court or the court of appeals, by a fine not exceeding one thousand dollars or by imprisonment in a county jail not exceeding six months, or by both such fine and imprisonment.
2. Before district judges, district associate judges, and associate juvenile judges by a fine not exceeding five hundred dollars or imprisonment in a county jail not exceeding six months or by both such fine and imprisonment. 3. Before judicial magistrates, by a fine not exceeding one hundred dollars or imprisonment in a county jail not exceeding thirty days. |
Increased fine | All | Yes |
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Iowa | Iowa Code § 665.5 | Contempts: Imprisonment |
If the contempt consists in an omission to perform an act which is yet in the power of the person to perform, the person may be imprisoned until the person performs it. In that case the act to be performed must be specified in the warrant of the commitment.
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Incarceration | All | No |
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Iowa | Iowa Code § 8A.504(d)(3),(2) | Setoff Procedures |
d. “Qualifying debt” includes, but is not limited to, the following: (3) Any debt which is in the form of a liquidated sum due, owing, and payable to the clerk of the district court.
2. Setoff procedure. The collection entity shall establish and maintain a procedure to set off against any claim owed to a person by a public agency any liability of that person owed to a public agency, a support debt being enforced by the child support recovery unit pursuant to chapter 252B, or such other qualifying debt. |
Wage/bank account garnishment | All | Yes |
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Iowa | Iowa Code § 321.210A(1) | Suspension for failure to pay fine, surcharge, or costs |
1. The department shall suspend the driver’s license of a person who, upon conviction of violating a law regulating the operation of a motor vehicle, has failed to pay the criminal fine or penalty, surcharge, or court costs, as follows:
a. Upon the failure of a person to timely pay the fine, penalty, surcharge, or court costs the clerk of the district court shall notify the person by regular mail that if the fine, penalty, surcharge, or court costs remain unpaid after sixty days from the date of mailing, the clerk will notify the department of the failure for purposes of instituting suspension procedures. b. Upon the failure of a person to pay the fine, penalty, surcharge, or court costs within sixty days’ notice by the clerk of the district court as provided in paragraph “b”, the clerk shall report the failure to the department. c. Upon receipt of a report of a failure to pay the fine, penalty, surcharge, or court costs from the clerk of the district court, the department shall in accordance with its rules, suspend the person’s driver’s license until the fine, penalty, surcharge, or court costs are paid. |
Driver's license suspension/impoundment | Traffic | Yes |
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Kansas | Kan. Stat. Ann. § 22-3425(1) | Commitment for failure to pay fine and costs |
(1) When a defendant is adjudged to pay a fine and costs, the court may order him to be committed to the county jail until such fine and costs are + See morepaid or may make an order providing for the payment of such fines and costs in installments.
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Incarceration | All | No |
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Kansas | K.S.A. Const. Bill of Rights § 16 | Imprisonment for debt | No person shall be imprisoned for debt, except in cases of fraud. | Incarceration | All | Yes |
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Kansas | Kan. Stat. Ann. § 22-3425(2) | Commitment for failure to pay fine and costs |
Any person confined in the county jail for failure to pay a fine or costs may be released by the court which imposed sentence, upon satisfactory proof that such person + See moreis unable to pay such fine and costs. A release under this section shall not discharge a person from his liability to pay the fine and costs adjudged against him, but they may thereafter be collected by execution as on judgments in civil cases.
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Payment plan/installment plan | All | No |
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Kansas | Kan. Stat. Ann. § 21-6604(j) | Authorized dispositions; crimes committed on or after July 1, 1993 |
(j) This section shall not deprive the court of any authority conferred by any other Kansas statute to decree a forfeiture of property, suspend or cancel a license, remove a + See moreperson from office or impose any other civil penalty as a result of conviction of crime.
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Driver's license suspension/impoundment | All | No |
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Kansas | Kan. Stat. Ann. § 21-6604(j) | Authorized dispositions; crimes committed on or after July 1, 1993 |
(j) This section shall not deprive the court of any authority conferred by any other Kansas statute to decree a forfeiture of property, suspend or cancel a license, remove a + See moreperson from office or impose any other civil penalty as a result of conviction of crime.
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Driver's license suspension/impoundment | All | No |
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Kansas | Kan. Stat. Ann. § 21-6604(f)(1) | Authorized dispositions; crimes committed on or after July 1, 1993 |
(j) This section shall not deprive the court of any authority conferred by any other Kansas statute to decree a forfeiture of property, suspend or cancel a license, remove a + See moreperson from office or impose any other civil penalty as a result of conviction of crime.
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Property liens | All | No |
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Kansas | Kan. Stat. Ann. § 21-6604(j) | Authorized dispositions; crimes committed on or after July 1, 1994 |
(f)(1) When a new felony is committed while the offender is incarcerated and serving a sentence for a felony, or while the offender is on probation, assignment to a community + See morecorrectional services program, parole, conditional release or postrelease supervision for a felony, a new sentence shall be imposed consecutively pursuant to the provisions of K.S.A. 21-6606, and amendments thereto, and the court may sentence the offender to imprisonment for the new conviction, even when the new crime of conviction otherwise presumes a nonprison sentence. In this event, imposition of a prison sentence for the new crime does not constitute a departure.
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Condition or extension of supervision | All | No |
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Oregon | Or. Rev. Stat. § 1.005 | Credit card transactions for fees, security deposits, fines and other court-imposed obligations; rules |
The Chief Justice of the Supreme Court or the presiding judge of any judicial district of this state may establish by rule a program to permit the use of credit card transactions as security deposits, fines, assessments, restitution or any other court-imposed monetary obligation arising out of an offense. The program may also provide for the use of credit card transactions to pay for filing fees, response fees, certification fees and any other fees charged by the court. Any rules adopted pursuant to this section may provide for recovery from the person using the credit card of an additional amount reasonably calculated to recover any charge to the court by a credit card company resulting from use of the credit card.
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Other | All | No |
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Wisconsin | Wis. Stat. § 973.07 | Failure to pay fine, fees, surcharges, or costsor to comply with certain community service work. |
If the fine, plus costs, fees, and surcharges imposed under ch. 814, are not paid or community service work under s. 943.017 (3) is not completed as required by the + See moresentence, the defendant may be committed to the county jail until the fine, costs, fees, and surcharges are paid or discharged, or the community service work under s.943.017 (3) is completed, for a period fixed by the court not to
exceed 6 months.
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Incarceration | All | No |
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Wisconsin | Wis. Stat. § 973.05(4)(a) | Fines ("Judgment of unpaid amount by court") |
(4) If a defendant fails to pay the fine, surcharge, costs, or fees within the period specified under sub. (1) or (1m), the court may do any of the following:(a) + See moreIssue a judgment for the unpaid amount and direct the clerk to file and docket a transcript of the judgment, without fee. If the court issues a judgment for the unpaid amount, the court shall send
to the defendant at his or her last?known address written notification that a civil judgment has been issued for the unpaid fine, surcharge, costs, or fees. The judgment has the same force and effect as judgments docketed under s. 806.10.
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Increased fine | All | No |
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Wisconsin | Wis. Stat. § 973.05(4)(b) | Fines ("Wage/benefits garnishment") |
(4) If a defendant fails to pay the fine, surcharge, costs, or fees within the period specified under sub. (1) or (1m), the court may do any of the following: + See more (b) Issue an order assigning not more than 25 percent of the defendants commissions, earnings, salaries, wages, pension benefits, benefits under ch. 102, and other money due or to be due inthe future to the clerk of circuit court for payment of the unpaid fine, surcharge, costs, or fees. In this paragraph, employer includes the state and its political subdivisions.
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Wage/bank account garnishment | All | No |
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Wisconsin | Wis. Stat. § 973.05(4)(c) | Fines ("Garnishment of lottery winnings") |
(4) If a defendant fails to pay the fine, surcharge, costs, or fees within the period specified under sub. (1) or (1m), the court may do any of the following: + See more (c) Issue an order assigning lottery prizes won by a defendant whose name is on the list supplied to the clerk of circuit court under s. 565.30 (5r) (a), for payment of the unpaid fine, surcharge, costs, or fees.
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Wage/bank account garnishment | All | No |
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Wisconsin | Wis. Stat. § 800.095(1)(a) | Nonpayment of monetary judgment |
(a) Suspension of the defendants operating privilege until the defendant pays the judgment, but not to exceed one year. If the court orders suspension under this paragraph, all of the + See morefollowing apply:
1. The court shall notify the department of transportation of the suspension for failure to pay the judgment. If the defendant pays the judgment, the court shall notify the department of transportation of the payment within 7 days in the form and manner prescribed by the department.
2. The court may order the suspension concurrent or consecutive to any other suspensions or revocations. If the court fails to specify whether the suspension is consecutive or concurrent, the department of transportation shall implement the suspension concurrent
with any other suspensions or revocations.
3. If the judgment remains unpaid at the end of the one?year suspension, the court may not order a further suspension of operating privileges in relation to the outstanding judgment.
3m. If the court terminates the defendants suspension as the result of the defendants agreement to a payment plan or community service and the defendant is later suspended because he or she defaults on that plan or service, the new suspension shall be
reduced by the amount of time that the suspension was served before being terminated by the court.
4. Serving the complete one?year suspension of the defendants operating privilege does not relieve the defendant of the responsibility to pay the judgment.
5. During the period of operating privilege suspension under this paragraph, the defendant may request the court to reconsider the order of suspension based on an inability to pay the judgment because of poverty, as that term is used in s. 814.29 (1) (d). The court shall consider the defendants request. If the court determines that the inability to pay the judgment is because of poverty, the court shall withdraw the suspension and grant the defendant further time to pay or withdraw the suspension and order one or
more other sanctions set forth in this subsection, including community service.
6. This paragraph does not apply if the judgment was entered solely for a violation of an ordinance unrelated to the violators operation of a motor vehicle unless the judgment is ordered under ch. 938. Nonmoving traffic offenses, as defined in s. 345.28 (1)(c), are related to the violators operation of a motor vehicle.
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Driver's license suspension/impoundment | All | No |
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Wisconsin | Wis. Stat. § 800.095(1)(b) | Nonpayment of monetary judgment |
(b) 1. That the defendant be imprisoned until the forfeiture, assessments, surcharge, and costs are paid. If the court orders imprisonment under this subdivision, all of the following apply:
a. + See moreThe maximum period of imprisonment shall be 90 days for
any one judgment, and the defendant shall receive credit against
the amount owed at the rate of at least $50 for each day of imprisonment,
including imprisonment following an arrest but prior to
the court making a finding under subd. 2.
b. The court may impose a term of imprisonment under this subdivision that is either concurrent with or consecutive to any other term of imprisonment imposed at the same time or any term of imprisonment imposed by any court.
2. No defendant may be imprisoned under subd. 1. unless the court makes one of the following findings:
a. Either at sentencing or thereafter, that the defendant has the ability to pay the judgment within a reasonable time. If a defendant meets the criteria in s. 814.29 (1) (d), the defendant shall be presumed unable to pay under this subsection and the court shall either suspend or extend payment of the judgment or order community service.
b. The defendant has failed, without good cause, to perform the community service authorized under this subsection or s.800.09.
c. The defendant has failed to attend an indigence hearing offered by the court to provide the defendant with an opportunity to determine whether he or she has the ability to pay the judgment.
d. The defendant has failed, without good cause, to complete an assessment or treatment program related to alcohol or drugs that was ordered in lieu of a monetary forfeiture.
3. a. Except as provided in subd. 3. b., the defendant shall be committed to a jail or a house of correction in the county in which the cause of action arose.
b. The defendant may be committed to the jail in another county within or outside of the state if the other county borders the county in which the cause of action arose, and the monthly expenses charged to the municipality by the other county to imprison the defendant are at least 25 percent less than the monthly expenses charged by the county in which the cause of action arose, and the other county agrees to having the defendant committed to the jail in that county.
c. The defendant shall be eligible for privileges under s.303.08 or a similar program in the other county if committed under subd. 3. b. The municipality shall pay the expenses incurred by the county to imprison the defendant.
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Incarceration | All | No |
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Wisconsin | Wis. Stat. § 800.035(2)(a)(4) | Initial Appearance in Municipal Court |
(2) If a defendant appears in person, all of the following shall occur:(a) The court shall, either orally or in writing, do all of the following: 4. Inform the + See moredefendant that if he or she is unable to pay the forfeiture, costs, fees, or surcharges due to poverty, he or she may request an installment payment, community service, or a stay of the judgment.
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Payment plan/installment plan | All | No |
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For more information, please visit cjpp.law.harvard.edu.