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Poverty Penalties and Poverty Traps
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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.
208 Results
| State | Statute | Description/Statute Name | Statutory language | Type of poverty penalty or poverty trap | Level of offense | Mandatory | |
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Maine | Me. Rev. Stat. tit 15 §1903 | Fines and forfeitures recovered by indictment unless otherwise provided |
All fines and forfeitures, imposed as punishment for offenses or for violations or neglects of statute duties may, when no other mode is expressly provided, be recovered by indictment. When no other appropriation is expressly made, they inure to the State.
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Incarceration | All | No |
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Maine | Me. Rev. Stat. tit 17-A § 1711(4)(A)(1) | Fines: Default |
Unless the offender shows by a preponderance of the evidence that the default was not attributable to an intentional or knowing refusal to obey the court's order or to a failure on the offender's part to make a good faith effort to obtain the funds required for the payment, the court shall find that the default was unexcused and may:(
(1) Commit the offender to the custody of the sheriff until all or a specified part of the fine is paid. The length of confinement in a county jail for unexcused default must be specified in the court's order and may not exceed 6 months. An offender committed for nonpayment of a fine is given credit toward the payment of the fine for each day of confinement that the offender is in custody at the rate specified in the court's order, which may not be less than $25 or more than $100 of unpaid fine for each day of confinement. The offender is also given credit for each day that the offender is detained as the result of an arrest warrant issued pursuant to this section. An offender is responsible for paying any fine remaining after receiving credit for confinement and detention. |
Incarceration | All | No |
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Maine | Me. Rev. Stat. 17-A § 2015(3)(A) | Restitution: Default |
A. Unless the offender shows by a preponderance of the evidence that the default was not attributable to an intentional or knowing refusal to obey the court's order or to a failure on the offender's part to make a good-faith effort to obtain the funds required to make payment, the court shall find that the default was unexcused and may commit the offender to the custody of the sheriff until all or a specified part of the restitution is paid. The length of confinement in a county jail for unexcused default must be specified in the court's order and may not exceed one day for every $5 of unpaid restitution or 6 months, whichever is shorter. An offender committed for nonpayment of restitution is given credit toward the payment of restitution for each day of confinement that the offender is in custody, at the rate specified in the court's order. The offender is also given credit for each day that the offender has been detained as the result of an arrest warrant issued pursuant to this section. An offender is responsible for paying any restitution remaining after receiving credit for confinement and detention. A default on the remaining restitution is also governed by this section.
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Incarceration | All | No |
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Maine | Me. Rev. Stat. tit 17-A § 1751(6)(A) | County jail reimbursement fee |
6. Motion to enforce payment of reimbursement fee. The attorney for the State, the attorney for the county or the court may initiate a motion to enforce payment of a reimbursement fee. Notification for the hearing on the motion must be sent by regular mail to the individual's last known address. If the individual does not appear for the hearing after proper notification has been sent, the court may issue a bench warrant.
A. Unless the individual shows by a preponderance of the evidence that the default was not attributable to an intentional or knowing refusal to obey the court's order or to a failure on the individual's part to make a good faith effort to obtain the funds required to make payment, the court shall find that the default was unexcused and may commit the individual to the custody of the sheriff until all or a specified part of the reimbursement fee is paid. The length of confinement in a county jail for unexcused default must be specified in the court's order and may not exceed 6 months. An individual committed for nonpayment of a reimbursement fee is given credit toward the payment of a reimbursement fee for each day of confinement that the individual is in custody, at the rate specified in the court's order, which may not be less than $25 or more than $100 of unpaid reimbursement fee for each day of confinement. The individual is also given credit for each day that the individual has been detained as the result of an arrest warrant issued pursuant to this section. An individual is responsible for paying any reimbursement fee remaining after receiving credit for confinement and detention. |
Incarceration | All | No |
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Maine | Me. Rev. Stat. tit 17-A § 1807(6) | Conditions of probation |
When a person on probation fails to pay the supervision fee, the court may revoke probation as specified in section 1206, unless the person shows that failure to pay was not attributable to a willful refusal to pay or to a failure on that person's part to make a good faith effort to obtain the funds required for the payment. The court, if it determines that revocation of probation is not warranted, shall issue a judgment for the total amount of the fee and shall issue an order attaching a specified portion of money received by or owed to the person on probation until the total amount of the fee has been paid. If the person makes this showing, the court may allow additional time for payment within the remaining period of probation or reduce the size of the fee to as low as $10 per month, but may not revoke the requirement to pay the fee unless the remaining period of probation is 30 days or less.
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Incarceration | All | No |
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Maine | Me. Rev. Stat. tit 17-A § 1807(7) | Conditions of probation |
7. Electronic monitoring and substance testing fees; determination of amount by court; failure to pay; use of fees. Upon the request of the Department of Corrections, the court shall attach as a condition of probation that the person pay, through the department, an electronic monitoring fee, a substance testing fee or both, as determined by the court, for the term of probation. In determining the amount of the fees, the court shall take into account the financial resources of the person and the nature of the burden the payment imposes. A person may not be sentenced to imprisonment without probation solely for the reason the person is not able to pay the fees. When a person on probation fails to pay the fees, the court may revoke probation as specified in section 1812, unless the person shows that failure to pay was not attributable to a willful refusal to pay or to a failure on that person's part to make a good faith effort to obtain the funds required for the payment.
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Incarceration | All | No |
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Maine | Me. Rev. Stat. tit 4 § 7 | General jurisdiction; control of records |
The Supreme Judicial Court may exercise its jurisdiction according to the common law not inconsistent with the Constitution or any statute, and may punish contempts against its authority by fine and imprisonment, or either, and administer oaths.
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Incarceration | All | No |
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Maine | Me. Rev. Stat. tit 17-A § 1854(2)(A) | Requirements of administrative release |
2. Discretionary requirements. In addition to the requirements in subsection 1, the court in its sentence may require the person: A. To pay to the appropriate county an administrative supervision fee of not more than $50 per month, as determined by the court, for the term of the administrative release. In determining the amount of the fee, the court shall take into account the financial resources of the person and the nature of the burden its payment imposes. When a person fails to pay the administrative supervision fee, the court may revoke administrative release as provided in sections 1855 and 1856 unless the person shows that failure to pay was not attributable to a willful refusal to pay or to a failure on that person's part to make a good faith effort to obtain the funds required for the payment.
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Incarceration | All | No |
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Georgia | Ga. Code Ann. § 17-6-1.1(1);(2) | Electronic Pretrial Release and Monitoring Program for Defendants; Requirements; Procedures; Fees |
(1) As an additional condition of electronic pretrial release and monitoring, a defendant authorized to participate in such program by the court shall pay a reasonable, nonrefundable fee for program enrollment, equipment use, and monitoring to the provider of such program. If a bonding company, bonding agent, or probation service provider is the provider, the fees earned in the capacity of being such a provider shall be in addition to the fees allowed in Code Sections 17-6-30, 42-8-34, and 42-8-102; (2) The fees connected with the electronic pretrial release and monitoring program shall be timely paid by a defendant as a condition of his or her ongoing participation in the electronic pretrial release and monitoring program in accordance with the terms for such programs as approved by the court. Failure to make timely payments shall constitute a violation of the terms of the electronic pretrial release and monitoring program and shall result in the defendant's immediate return to custody.
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Incarceration | All | No |
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Massachusetts | Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 276, § 31 | Default Warrant for Failure to Pay — Additional Fees — Payment to Court's Administrative Office. |
Whenever a court issues a default warrant solely due to the person’s failure to pay a fine, assessment, court cost, restitution, support payment or other amount as ordered by the court or required by law, the court shall specify the amount owed, including an additional assessment of $50 which assessment may be waived by the court upon a finding of good cause or upon a finding that such an assessment would cause a substantial financial hardship to the person, the person’s immediate family or the person’s dependents, with a statement that the warrant against the person may be discharged upon payment of the amount and the assessment, if any, and shall note the same in the warrant management system. The administrative office of the trial court shall accept payment of such fine, assessment, court cost, restitution, support payment or other amount as ordered by the court, along with any assessment, to be remitted by mail, telephone or other electronic means, in any form deemed acceptable by the trial court. Upon receipt of payment, the warrant against the person shall be discharged, the discharge shall be noted in the warrant management system and the individual shall receive notice of the discharge within seven days.
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Incarceration, Increased fine | All | Yes |
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Massachusetts | Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 276, § 32 | Default Warrant for Failure to Pay — Additional Fees — Payment of Person Before Court. |
Whenever a person, brought before a court, against whom an outstanding warrant was issued, solely due to the failure of the person brought before the court to pay a fine assessment, court cost, restitution, support payment, or other amount, the court may accept payment of such amount and assess an additional fifty dollars which assessment may be waived by the court upon a finding of good cause and if the person is not being held on other process, the court may direct that the person be released from custody and shall notify the jurisdiction in which the warrant was issued of the payment and the assessment, if any. Upon notice of the release the court that issued the warrant shall recall the warrant and cause such information to be entered in the warrant management system.
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Incarceration, Increased fine | All | No |
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Massachusetts | Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 279, § 1 | Suspension of execution; payment of fine; probation; revocation of suspension; exceptions |
When a person so convicted is sentenced to pay a fine and to stand committed until it is paid, the court may direct that the execution of the sentence, or any part thereof, be suspended for such time as it shall fix and in its discretion that he be placed on probation on condition that he pay the fine within such time . . . If during or at the end of said period the probation officer shall report that the fine is in whole or in part unpaid, and in his opinion the person is unwilling or unable to pay it, the court may either extend said period, place the case on file or revoke the suspension of the execution of the sentence. When such suspension is revoked, in a case where the fine has been paid in part, the defendant may be committed for default in payment of the balance.
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Incarceration | All | No |
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Massachusetts | Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 279, § 1A | Suspended Sentences — Fines and Imprisonment. |
When a person convicted before a court is sentenced to fine and imprisonment, the court may direct that the execution of the sentence, or any part thereof, be suspended, and that he be placed on probation for such time and on such terms and conditions as it shall fix. The court may direct, as one of such terms and conditions, that payment of the fine may be made to the probation officer in one payment, or in part payments, during the period of probation or any extension thereof, and when such fine shall have been fully paid the order of commitment as to the fine shall be void, but the order of commitment as to imprisonment shall not be affected by such payment . . . If during or at the end of said period the probation officer shall report that the fine is in whole or in part unpaid, and in his opinion the person is unwilling or unable to pay it, the court may either extend said period, place the case on file or revoke the suspension of the execution of the sentence. When such suspension is revoked, in a case where the fine has been paid in part, the defendant may be committed for default in payment of the balance, and may also be committed for the term of imprisonment fixed in the original sentence.
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Incarceration | All | No |
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Massachusetts | Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 279, § 7 | Sentence — Conviction of Crime Punishable by Fine; Imprisonment for Non-Payment. |
Whoever is convicted of a crime punishable by a fine, and is liable to imprisonment in the jail for its non-payment, may be sentenced to such imprisonment in the house of correction, or to confinement at hard labor either in the jail or house of correction.
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Incarceration | All | No |
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Massachusetts | Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 279, § 9 | Sentence — Second Sentence for Non-Payment of Fine. |
Except as provided in section one hundred and forty-six of chapter one hundred and twenty-seven, if a convict is sentenced to pay a fine in more than one case and has been committed to a jail, house of correction or other prison or other correctional institution for refusing to pay such fine, the subsequent sentence shall take effect upon the expiration of the imprisonment under the former sentence.
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Incarceration | All | Yes |
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Massachusetts | Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 279, § 10 | Sentence — Conditional. |
If a person has been convicted of a crime punishable, at the discretion of the court, by fine or imprisonment in the jail or house of correction or by fine or imprisonment in the state prison, the court may impose upon him a conditional sentence, and order him to pay a fine within a limited time which shall be expressed in the sentence, and in default thereof to suffer such imprisonment as is provided by law. He shall be forthwith committed to the custody of an officer in court or to the jail, to be detained until the sentence is complied with; and if he does not within the time limited pay the fine imposed, the sheriff shall cause the other part of the sentence to be executed forthwith.
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Incarceration | All | No |
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Massachusetts | Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 266, § 111B | Fraudulent Motor Vehicle Insurance Claims; Penalties; Reimbursement of Insurer. |
If a defendant who is required to make restitution defaults in any payment of restitution or installment thereof, the court shall hold him in contempt unless said defendant has made a good faith effort to pay such restitution.
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Incarceration | All | Yes |
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Massachusetts | Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 90, § 24D | Drivers Convicted of Operating Motor Vehicle Under the Influence of Intoxicating Liquors or Controlled Substances. |
An additional fee of two hundred and fifty dollars shall be paid to the chief probation officer of each court by each person placed in a program of driver alcohol or controlled substance abuse education pursuant to this section and all such fees shall be deposited with the state treasurer, subject to appropriation, for the support of programs operated by the secretary of public safety, the alcohol beverage control commission, and the department of public health for the investigation, enforcement, treatment and rehabilitation of those persons convicted of or charged with driving under the influence of intoxicating liquor or drugs . . . Failure to pay the fees required under this section shall, unless excused, constitute sufficient basis for a finding by the court at a hearing held pursuant to section twenty-four E that the person has failed to satisfactorily comply with the program.
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Incarceration | Traffic | No |
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Massachusetts | Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 276, § 92A | Restitution for Motor Vehicle Thefts or Fraudulent Motor Vehicle Insurance Claims. |
If a defendant who is required to make restitution defaults in any payment of restitution or installment thereof, the court may hold him in contempt unless said defendant has made a good faith effort to make restitution.
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Incarceration | All | No |
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Massachusetts | Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 266, § 27A | Removing or Concealing Motor Vehicles or Trailers to Defraud Insurers; Reimbursement of Insurers. |
If a defendant who is required to make restitution defaults in any payment of restitution or installment thereof, the court shall hold him in contempt unless said defendant has made a good faith effort to pay such restitution.
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Incarceration | Felony | Yes |
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.