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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Texas Tex. Code Crim. Proc. Art. 42A.751(b),(e) Violation of Conditions of Community Supervision; Detention and Hearing

(b) At any time during the period of community supervision, the judge may issue a warrant for a violation of any condition of community supervision and cause the defendant to be

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arrested. Any supervision officer, police officer, or other officer with the power of arrest may arrest the defendant with or without a warrant on the order of the judge to be noted on the docket of the court. Subject to Subsection (c), a defendant arrested under this subsection may be detained in the county jail or other appropriate place of confinement until the defendant can be taken before the judge for a determination regarding the alleged violation.

(e) A judge may revoke without a hearing the community supervision of a defendant who is imprisoned in a penal institution if the defendant in writing before a court of record or a notary public in the jurisdiction where the defendant is imprisoned

Incarceration All No
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Texas Tex. Code Crim. Proc. Art. 43.09(a)-(e) Fine Discharged

(a) When a defendant is convicted of a misdemeanor and the defendant’s punishment is assessed at a pecuniary fine or is confined in a jail after conviction of a felony for

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which a fine is imposed, if the defendant is unable to pay the fine and costs adjudged against the defendant, the defendant may for such time as will satisfy the judgment be put to work in the county jail industries program, in the workhouse, or on the county farm, or public improvements and maintenance projects of the county or a political subdivision located in whole or in part in the county, as provided in Article 43.10; or if there is no such county jail industries program, workhouse, farm, or improvements and maintenance projects, the defendant shall be confined in jail for a sufficient length of time to discharge the full amount of fine and costs adjudged against the defendant; rating such confinement at $100 for each day and rating such labor at $100 for each day; provided, however, that the defendant may pay the pecuniary fine assessed against the defendant at any time while the defendant is serving at work in the county jail industries program, in the workhouse, or on the county farm, or on the public improvements and maintenance projects of the county or a political subdivision located in whole or in part in the county, or while the defendant is serving the defendant’s jail sentence, and in such instances the defendant is entitled to the credit earned under this subsection during the time that the defendant has served and the defendant shall only be required to pay the balance of the pecuniary fine assessed against the defendant. A defendant who performs labor under this article during a day in which the defendant is confined is entitled to both the credit for confinement and the credit for labor provided by this article.

(b) In its discretion, the court may order that for each day’s confinement served by a defendant under this article, the defendant receive credit toward payment of the pecuniary fine and credit toward payment of costs adjudged against the defendant. Additionally, the court may order that the defendant receive credit under this article for each day’s confinement served by the defendant as punishment for the offense.

(c) In its discretion, the court may order that a defendant serving concurrent, but not consecutive, sentences for two or more misdemeanors may, for each day served, receive credit toward the satisfaction of costs and fines imposed for each separate offense.

(d) Notwithstanding any other provision of this article, in its discretion, the court or the sheriff of the county may grant an additional two days credit for each day served to any inmate participating in an approved work program under this article or a rehabilitation, restitution, or education program.

(e) A court in a county that operates an electronic monitoring program or contracts with a private vendor to operate an electronic monitoring program under Section 351.904, Local Government Code, or that is served by a community supervision and corrections department that operates an electronic monitoring program approved by the community justice assistance division of the Texas Department of Criminal Justice, may require a defendant who is unable to pay a fine or costs to discharge all or part of the fine or costs by participating in the program. A defendant who participates in an electronic monitoring program under this subsection discharges fines and costs in the same manner as if the defendant were confined in county jail.

Work program/jail industry program Misdemeanor No
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Texas Tex. Gov't Code Sec. 21.002(a)-(c) Contempt of Court

(a) Except as provided by Subsection (g), a court may punish for contempt.

(b) The punishment for contempt of a court other than a justice court or municipal court is a fine of

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not more than $500 or confinement in the county jail for not more than six months, or both such a fine and confinement in jail.

(c) The punishment for contempt of a justice court or municipal court is a fine of not more than $100 or confinement in the county or city jail for not more than three days, or both such a fine and confinement in jail.

Incarceration, Increased fine All No
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Texas Tex. Code Crim. Proc. Art. 43.03(a) Payment of Fine

If a defendant is sentenced to pay a fine or costs or both and the defendant defaults in payment, the court after a hearing under Subsection (d) of this article

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may order the defendant confined in jail until discharged as provided by law, may order the defendant to discharge the fines and costs in any other manner provided by Article 43.09 of this code, or may waive payment of the fines and costs as provided by Article 43.091. A certified copy of the judgment, sentence, and order is sufficient to authorize confinement under this subsection

Incarceration All No
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Vermont Vt. Stat. Ann. tit. 13 § 7180(4)(b) Remedies for failure to pay fines, costs, surcharges, and penalties

(4)  Contempt. (A) The court may conclude that the defendant is in contempt if the court finds that: (i) the defendant knew or reasonably should have known that he or she

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owed the amount due; (ii) the defendant had the ability to pay all or any portion of the amount due; and (iii) the defendant failed to pay all or any portion of the amount due.

(B) If the court concludes that the defendant is in contempt, the court may: (i) Order payment of the amount due on a specific date. (ii) Assess an additional penalty not to exceed ten percent of the amount due. (iii) Direct that the matter be reported to one or more designated credit bureaus. The Court Administrator or the Court Administrator's designee is authorized to contract with one or more credit bureaus for the purpose of reporting information about unpaid Judicial Bureau judgments. (iv)  Refer to Small Claims Court for the purpose of issuing writs of attachment for property and trustee process pursuant to 12 V.S.A. § 5534. Filing fees shall be waived in such cases. (v) Sentence the defendant to serve a term of imprisonment on furlough to participate in a program supervised by the Department of Corrections pursuant to 28 V.S.A. § 808(a) that provides reparation to the community in the form of supervised work activities. For each day the defendant participates in supervised work activities, the defendant shall be given credit against the amount owed at the hourly rate for minimum wage. A defendant who is determined by the Department of Corrections to be ineligible for the preapproved furlough supervised work program may be ordered by the court to serve a sentence in a correctional facility, in which event the defendant shall be given credit against the amount owed for every day served at a rate determined by the court.

Incarceration, Increased fine, Property liens, Work program/jail industry program All No
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Washington Wash. Rev. Code Ann. § 9.94B.040(1),(4) Conversion of fine to community service (for crimes committed before July 1, 2000)

(1) If an offender violates any condition or requirement of a sentence, the court may modify its order of judgment and sentence and impose further punishment in accordance with this section.

(4) If

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the violation involves failure to pay legal financial obligations, the following provisions apply: (a) The department and the offender may enter into a stipulated agreement that the failure to pay was willful noncompliance, according to the provisions and requirements of subsection (3)(a) of this section; (b) In the absence of a stipulated agreement, or where the court is not satisfied with the department’s sanctions as provided in a stipulated agreement under (a) of this subsection, the court, upon the motion of the state, or upon its own motion, shall require the offender to show cause why the offender should not be punished for the noncompliance. The court may issue a summons or a warrant of arrest for the offender’s appearance; (c) The state has the burden of showing noncompliance by a preponderance of the evidence. The court may not sanction the offender for failure to pay legal financial obligations unless the court finds, after a hearing and on the record, that the failure to pay is willful. A failure to pay is willful if the offender has the current ability to pay but refuses to do so. In determining whether the offender has the current ability to pay, the court shall inquire into and consider: (i) The offender’s income and assets; (ii) the offender’s basic living costs as defined by RCW 10.101.010 and other liabilities including child support and other legal financial obligations; and (iii) the offender’s bona fide efforts to acquire additional resources. An offender who is indigent as defined by RCW 10.101.010(3) (a) through (c) is presumed to lack the current ability to pay; (d) If the court determines that the offender is homeless or a person who is mentally ill, as defined in RCW 71.24.025, failure to pay a legal financial obligation is not willful noncompliance and shall not subject the offender to penalties; (e) If the court finds that the failure to pay is willful noncompliance, the court may order the offender to be confined for a period not to exceed sixty days for each violation or order one or more of the penalties authorized in subsection (3)(a)(i) of this section; and (f) If the court finds that the violation was not willful, the court may, and if the court finds that the defendant is indigent as defined in RCW 10.101.010(3) (a) through (c), the court shall modify the terms of payment of the legal financial obligations, reduce or waive nonrestitution legal financial obligations, or convert nonrestitution legal financial obligations to community restitution hours, if the jurisdiction operates a community restitution program, at the rate of no less than the state minimum wage established in RCW 49.46.020 for each hour of community restitution. The crime victim penalty assessment under RCW 7.68.035 may not be reduced, waived, or converted to community restitution hours.

Community service, Incarceration, Payment plan/installment plan All No
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Washington Wash. Rev. Code Ann. § 10.82.030 Commitment for failure to pay fine and costs — Execution against defendant’s property — Reduction by payment, labor, or confinement

If any person ordered into custody until the fine and costs adjudged against him or her be paid shall not, within five days, pay, or cause the payment of the

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same to be made, the clerk of the court shall issue a warrant to the sheriff commanding him or her to imprison such defendant in the county jail until the amount of such fine and costs owing are paid. Execution may at any time issue against the property of the defendant for that portion of such fine and costs not reduced by the application of this section. The amount of such fine and costs owing shall be the whole of such fine and costs reduced by the amount of any portion thereof paid, and an amount established by the county legislative authority for every day the defendant performs labor as provided in RCW 10.82.040, and a lesser amount established by the county legislative authority for every day the defendant does not perform such labor while imprisoned.

Incarceration All No
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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

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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
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Washington Wash. Rev. Code Ann. § 9.94B.030 Post release supervision-violations

If the offender violates any condition of postrelease supervision, a hearing may be conducted in the same manner as provided in RCW 9.94B.040. Jurisdiction shall be with the court of the

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county in which the offender was sentenced. However, the court may order a change of venue to the offender’s county of residence or where the violation occurred, for the purpose of holding a violation hearing.

After the hearing, the court may order the offender to be confined for up to sixty days per violation in the county jail. Reimbursement to a city or county for the care of offenders who are detained solely for violating a condition of postrelease supervision shall be under RCW 70.48.440. A county shall be reimbursed for indigent defense costs for offenders who are detained solely for violating a condition of postrelease supervision in accordance with regulations to be promulgated by the office of financial management. An offender may be held in jail at state expense pending the hearing, and any time served while awaiting the hearing shall be credited against confinement imposed for a violation. The court shall retain jurisdiction for the purpose of holding the violation hearing and imposing a sanction.

Incarceration All No
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Washington Wash. Rev. Code Ann. § 10.01.180(1),(3)-(5) Fine or costs — Default in payment — Contempt of court — Enforcement, collection procedures

(1) A defendant sentenced to pay any fine, penalty, assessment, fee, or costs who willfully defaults in the payment thereof or of any installment is in contempt of court as provided

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in chapter 7.21 RCW. The court may issue a warrant of arrest for his or her appearance.

(3) (a) The court shall not sanction a defendant for contempt based on failure to pay fines, penalties, assessments, fees, or costs unless the court finds, after a hearing and on the record, that the failure to pay is willful. A failure to pay is willful if the defendant has the current ability to pay but refuses to do so. (b) In determining whether the defendant has the current ability to pay, the court shall inquire into and consider: (i) The defendant’s income and assets; (ii) the defendant’s basic living costs as defined by RCW 10.101.010 and other liabilities including child support and other legal financial obligations; and (iii) the defendant’s bona fide efforts to acquire additional resources. A defendant who is indigent as defined by RCW 10.101.010(3) (a) through (c) is presumed to lack the current ability to pay. (c) If the court determines that the defendant is homeless or a person who is mentally ill, as defined in RCW 71.24.025, failure to pay a legal financial obligation is not willful contempt and shall not subject the defendant to penalties.

(4) If a term of imprisonment for contempt for nonpayment of any fine, penalty, assessment, fee, or costs is ordered, the term of imprisonment shall be set forth in the commitment order, and shall not exceed one day for each twenty-five dollars of the amount ordered, thirty days if the amount ordered of costs was imposed upon conviction of a violation or misdemeanor, or one year in any other case, whichever is the shorter period. A person committed for nonpayment of any fine, penalty, assessment, fee, or costs shall be given credit toward payment for each day of imprisonment at the rate specified in the commitment order.

(5) If it appears to the satisfaction of the court that the default in the payment of any fine, penalty, assessment, fee, or costs is not willful contempt, the court may, and if the defendant is indigent as defined in RCW 10.101.010(3) (a) through (c), the court shall enter an order: (a) Allowing the defendant additional time for payment; (b) reducing the amount thereof or of each installment; (c) revoking the fine, penalty, assessment, fee, or costs or the unpaid portion thereof in whole or in part; or (d) converting the unpaid fine, penalty, assessment, fee, or costs to community restitution hours, if the jurisdiction operates a community restitution program, at the rate of no less than the state minimum wage established in RCW 49.46.020 for each hour of community restitution. The crime victim penalty assessment under RCW 7.68.035 may not be reduced, revoked, or converted to community restitution hours.

Incarceration, Payment plan/installment plan All No
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Washington Wash. Rev. Code Ann. § 10.70.010  Commitment until fine and costs are paid

When the defendant is adjudged to pay a fine and costs, the court shall order him or her to be committed to the custody of the sheriff until the fine

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and costs are paid or secured as provided by law.

Incarceration All Yes
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Washington Wash. Rev. Code Ann. § 9.94A.760(1),(5),(10) Legal financial obligations

(1) Whenever a person is convicted in superior court, the court may order the payment of a legal financial obligation as part of the sentence. The court may not order an

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offender to pay costs as described in RCW 10.01.160 if the court finds that the offender at the time of sentencing is indigent as defined in RCW 10.101.010(3) (a) through (c). An offender being indigent as defined in RCW 10.101.010(3) (a) through (c) is not grounds for failing to impose restitution or the crime victim penalty assessment under RCW 7.68.035. The court must on either the judgment and sentence or on a subsequent order to pay, designate the total amount of a legal financial obligation and segregate this amount among the separate assessments made for restitution, costs, fines, and other assessments required by law. On the same order, the court is also to set a sum that the offender is required to pay on a monthly basis towards satisfying the legal financial obligation. If the court fails to set the offender monthly payment amount, the department shall set the amount if the department has active supervision of the offender, otherwise the county clerk shall set the amount.

(5) . . . For an offense committed on or after July 1, 2000, the court shall retain jurisdiction over the offender, for purposes of the offender’s compliance with payment of the legal financial obligations, until the obligation is completely satisfied, regardless of the statutory maximum for the crime. The department may only supervise the offender’s compliance with payment of the legal financial obligations during any period in which the department is authorized to supervise the offender in the community under RCW 9.94A.728, 9.94A.501, or in which the offender is confined in a state correctional institution or a correctional facility pursuant to a transfer agreement with the department, and the department shall supervise the offender’s compliance during any such period.

(10) The department or any obligee of the legal financial obligation may seek a mandatory wage assignment for the purposes of obtaining satisfaction for the legal financial obligation pursuant to RCW 9.94A.7701. Any party obtaining a wage assignment shall notify the county clerk. The county clerks shall notify the department, or the administrative office of the courts, whichever is providing the monthly billing for the offender.

(11) The requirement that the offender pay a monthly sum towards a legal financial obligation constitutes a condition or requirement of a sentence and the offender is subject to the penalties for noncompliance as provided in RCW 9.94B.040, 9.94A.737, or 9.94A.740. If the court determines that the offender is homeless or a person who is mentally ill, as defined in RCW 71.24.025, failure to pay a legal financial obligation is not willful noncompliance and shall not subject the offender to penalties.

Incarceration, Payment plan/installment plan, Wage/bank account garnishment All Yes
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South Dakota S.D. Codified Laws § 216-15-7
Resistance to judicial process as misdemeanorEvery person guilty of any contempt of court by intentional disobedience of any process or order lawfully issued by any court is guilty of a
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Class 2 misdemeanor.

Every person guilty of any contempt of court by intentional disobedience of any process or order lawfully issued by any court is guilty of a Class 2 misdemeanor.

Incarceration All No
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South Dakota S.D. Codified Laws § 223A-27-25.5 Hearing required prior to imprisonment or jailing for failure to pay fine, costs, and restitution--Burden of proof--Computation of time to be served

No defendant may be imprisoned or jailed for failure to pay a fine, costs, or restitution or have any suspended prison or jail sentence revoked without a prior hearing. At

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the hearing, the defendant has the burden of proof to establish to the reasonable satisfaction of the magistrate or circuit judge that the defendant did not willfully fail to pay the fine, costs, or restitution or that the defendant did make a bona fide effort to pay the fine, costs, or restitution.
Failure by the defendant to make such a showing is grounds for being imprisoned or jailed. If the sentence provided for payment of fine or costs only, the term of jail or imprisonment may be no longer than the number of days equal to the total amount of the fine or costs imposed divided by sixty. For purposes of making this computation, any fraction of less than one day shall be dropped from the term of imprisonment. In no event may such imprisonment for failure to pay the fine, costs, and restitution together with all other time served or to be served exceed the maximum allowed by statute.
If the defendant establishes that nonpayment was not willful or that the defendant did make a bona fide effort to pay, the defendant may not be imprisoned or jailed for nonpayment. The magistrate or circuit judge shall consider other alternatives which take into account the state's interest in punishment and deterrence.
The court shall make findings in its decision.

Incarceration All No
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Washington Wash. Rev. Code Ann. § 9.92.130 City jail prisoners may be compelled to work

When a person has been sentenced by any municipal or district judge in this state to a term of imprisonment in a city jail, whether in default of payment of

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a fine or otherwise, such person may be compelled on each day of such term, except Sundays, to perform eight hours' labor upon the streets, public buildings, and grounds of such city.

Incarceration All No
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Washington Wash. Rev. Code Ann. § 9.92.140 County jail prisoners may be compelled to work

When a person has been sentenced by a district judge or a judge of the superior court to a term of imprisonment in the county jail, whether in default of

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payment of a fine, or costs or otherwise; such person may be compelled to work eight hours, each day of such term, in and about the county buildings, public roads, streets and grounds: PROVIDED, This section and RCW 9.92.130 shall not apply to persons committed in default of bail.

Incarceration All No
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Washington Wash. Rev. Code Ann. § 9.94A.631(1) Violation of condition or requirement of sentence--Security searches authorized--Arrest by community corrections officer--Confinement in county jail

(1) If an offender violates any condition or requirement of a sentence, a community corrections officer may arrest or cause the arrest of the offender without a warrant, pending a

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determination by the court or by the department.

Condition or extension of supervision, Incarceration All No
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Washington Wash. Rev. Code Ann. § 9.94A.6333(3) Sanctions--Modification of sentence--Noncompliance hearing

3) If an offender fails to pay legal financial obligations as a requirement of a sentence the following provisions apply:
(a) The court, upon the motion of the state, or

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upon its own motion, shall require the offender to show cause why the offender should not be punished for the noncompliance. The court may issue a summons or a warrant of arrest for the offender's appearance;
(b) The state has the burden of showing noncompliance by a preponderance of the evidence;
(c) The court may not sanction the offender for failure to pay legal financial obligations unless the court finds, after a hearing and on the record, that the failure to pay is willful. A failure to pay is willful if the offender has the current ability to pay but refuses to do so. In determining whether the offender has the current ability to pay, the court shall inquire into and consider: (i) The offender's income and assets; (ii) the offender's basic living costs as defined by RCW 10.101.010 and other liabilities including child support and other legal financial obligations; and (iii) the offender's bona fide efforts to acquire additional resources. An offender who is indigent as defined by RCW 10.101.010(3) (a) through (c) is presumed to lack the current ability to pay;
(d) If the court determines that the offender is homeless or a person who is mentally ill, as defined in RCW 71.24.025, failure to pay a legal financial obligation is not willful noncompliance and shall not subject the offender to penalties;
(e) If the court finds that a failure to pay is willful noncompliance, it may impose the sanctions specified in RCW 9.94A.633(1); and
(f) If the court finds that the violation was not willful, the court may, and if the court finds that the defendant is indigent as defined in RCW 10.101.010(3) (a) through (c), the court shall modify the terms of payment of the legal financial obligations, reduce or waive nonrestitution legal financial obligations, or convert nonrestitution legal financial obligations to community restitution hours, if the jurisdiction operates a community restitution program, at the rate of no less than the state minimum wage established in RCW 49.46.020 for each hour of community restitution. The crime victim penalty assessment under RCW 7.68.035 may not be reduced, waived, or converted to community restitution hours.

Incarceration, Payment plan/installment plan All No
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West Virginia W. Va. Code § 62-4-9 Capias pro fine; release of defendant on bond

When a judgment for fine and costs is rendered by a circuit court, or other court of record having jurisdiction in criminal cases, the court may order a capias pro

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fine to be issued thereon at any time during the term at which the judgment is rendered, and if not such order be made, such capias shall be issued by the clerk of the court in vacation if he be ordered to do so by the prosecuting attorney. If the judgment of the court in such case be that the defendant be imprisoned and fined, or that he be fined and imprisoned until the fine and costs be paid, or if the defendant be imprisoned by virtue of such capias pro fine, in either event, the defendant may be released from such imprisonment, where he is detained for a failure to pay such fine and costs, only upon his giving bond with good security before the court, or before the clerk thereof in vacation, or before the sheriff of the county in which such judgment is rendered, payable to the state of West Virginia, for the payment of such fine and costs, at a time not exceeding twelve months after the date of such bond. If default be made in the payment of such bond, the same may be proceeded against to judgment and execution as if it were a forthcoming bond.

Incarceration All No
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Wyoming Wyo. Stat. Ann. § 6-10-105 Commitment for refusal to pay fine or costs; rate per day

A person committed to jail for willfully refusing to pay a fine or costs may be imprisoned if the court determines that the defendant has an ability to pay or

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that a reasonable probability exists that the defendant will have an ability to pay, until the imprisonment, at the rate of fifteen dollars ($15.00) per day, equals the amount of the fine or costs, or the amount shall be paid or secured to be paid when he is discharged.

Incarceration All No