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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.
119 Results
State | Statute | Description/Statute Name | Statutory language | Type of poverty penalty or poverty trap | Level of offense | Mandatory | |
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Mississippi | Miss. Code Ann. § 99-37-5(2) | Payment and orders |
(2) When a defendant sentenced to pay a fine or costs or ordered to make restitution is also placed on probation or imposition or execution of sentence is suspended, the + See morecourt may make payment of the fine or costs or the making of restitution a condition of probation or suspension of sentence. Such offenders shall make restitution payments directly to the victim. As an alternative to a contempt proceeding under Sections 99-37-7 through 99-37-13, the intentional refusal to obey the restitution order or a failure by a defendant to make a good faith effort to make such restitution may be considered a violation of the defendant's probation and may be cause for revocation of his probation or suspension of sentence.
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Incarceration | All | No |
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Mississippi | Miss. Code Ann. § 99-37-7(2) | Contempt for default |
(2) Unless the defendant shows that his default was not attributable to an intentional refusal to obey the order of the court or to a failure on his part to + See moremake a good faith effort to make the payment, the court may find that his default constitutes contempt and may order him committed until the fine or the restitution, or a specified part thereof, is paid.
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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 + See morecapias 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.
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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 + See moreof the fine has been paid the imprisonment cannot exceed the remaining pro rata portion of the sentence.
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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 + See moreindividual'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.
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Incarceration | All | Yes |
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Connecticut | Conn. Gen. Stat. § 52-399 | Commitment of debtor for contempt. |
Any judge before whom any such examination is ordered may commit the judgment debtor for contempt in case of his neglect or refusal to attend or be sworn at the + See moreexamination or to answer any question put to him during the examination, and any such neglect or refusal, if the examination is ordered or had before a committee, may be by such committee reported to the judge by whom he was appointed, which judge may thereupon proceed for the contempt as fully as if the examination had been ordered or had before himself.
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Incarceration | All | No |
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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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Montana | Mont. Code Ann. § 46-18-208 | Termination of remaining portion of deferred or suspended sentence--petition |
When imposition of a sentence has been deferred or execution of a sentence has been suspended, the prosecutor or defendant may file a petition to terminate the time remaining on + See morethe sentence
The court may grant the petition if it finds that...the defendant has paid all restitution and court-ordered financial obligations in full.
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Incarceration | All | No |
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Montana | Mont. Code Ann. § 46-18-233 | Fine or costs as condition on suspended or deferred sentence |
(1) Whenever a defendant is sentenced to pay a fine or costs under 46-18-231 or 46-18-232 and the imposition or execution of the rest of the defendant's sentence is deferred + See moreor suspended, the court may make payment of the fine or costs a condition for probation.
(2) A suspended or deferred sentence may not be revoked if the defendant defaults on the payment of the fine and the default is not attributable to an intentional refusal to obey the order of the court or a failure to make a good faith effort to make the payment.
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Incarceration | All | No |
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New York | N.Y. Judiciary Law § 753 | Power of Courts to punish Civil Contempts |
A. A court of record has power to punish, by fine and imprisonment, or either, a neglect or violation of duty, or other misconduct, by which a right or remedy + See moreof a party to a civil action or special proceeding, pending in the court may be defeated, impaired, impeded, or prejudiced, in any of the following cases: 3. A party to the action or special proceeding, an attorney, counsellor, or other person, for the non-payment of a sum of money, ordered or adjudged by the court to be paid, in a case where by law execution can not be awarded for the collection of such sum except as otherwise specifically provided by the civil practice law and rules; or for any other disobedience to a lawful mandate of the court.
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Incarceration | 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 | 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. 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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Tennessee | Tenn. Code Ann. § 40-24-105(d)(2) | Collection; fines, costs and litigation taxes; license revocation |
On or after January 1, 2015, if an agent is used, the agent's collection fee shall be added to the total amount owed. The agent's collection fee shall not exceed + See moreforty percent (40%) of any amounts actually collected. When moneys are paid into court, the allocation formula outlined in subsection (a) shall be followed, except up to forty percent (40%) may be withheld for the collection agent, with the remainder being allocated according to the formula.
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Collection fee/interest | All | Yes |
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Tennessee | Tenn. Code Ann. § 40-4-106 | Fines and Costs |
On conviction, the offender shall immediately pay the fine and costs, or give security to pay them, or be imprisoned until they are paid. The fine and costs, if paid + See morebefore execution, shall be paid to the clerk; if paid after execution, to the officer having the execution.
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Incarceration | All | Yes |
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Tennessee | Tenn. Code Ann. § 40-24-105(d)(1) | Collection; fines, costs and litigation taxes; license revocation |
(d)(1) Any fine, costs, or litigation taxes remaining in default after the entry of the order assessing the fine, costs, or litigation taxes may be collected by the district attorney + See moregeneral or the criminal or general sessions court clerk in the manner authorized by this section and otherwise by the trial court by contempt upon a finding by the court that the defendant has the present ability to pay the fine and willfully refuses to pay. After a fine, costs, or litigation taxes have been in default for at least six (6) months, the district attorney general or criminal or general sessions court clerk may retain an agent to collect, or institute proceedings to collect, or establish an in-house collection procedure to collect, fines, costs and litigation taxes. If an agent is used, the district attorney general or the criminal or general sessions court clerk shall request the county purchasing agent to utilize normal competitive bidding procedures applicable to the county to select and retain the agent. If the district attorney general and the criminal or general sessions court clerk cannot agree upon who collects the fines, costs and litigation taxes, the presiding judge of the judicial district or a general sessions judge shall make the decision. The district attorney general or criminal or general sessions court clerk may retain up to fifty percent (50%) of the fines, costs and litigation taxes collected pursuant to this subsection (d) in accordance with any in-house collection procedure or, if an agent is used, for the collection agent. The proceeds from any in-house collection shall be treated as other fees of the office. When moneys are paid into court, the allocation formula outlined in subsection (a) shall be followed, except up to fifty percent (50%) may be withheld for in-house collection or, if an agent is used, for the collection agent, with the remainder being allocated according to the formula.
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Collection fee/interest | All | No |
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