Ability to Pay

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State Statute Description/Statute Name Statutory language Level of offense Definition of ability to pay Timeline Burden of proof Method of determination Mandatory Remedies if unable to pay
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Vermont Vt. Stat. Ann. tit. 13 § 5238(f) Co-payment and reimbursement orders

A person who may be or has been ordered to pay all or part of the cost of representation by co-payment or reimbursement order may at any time petition the

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court making the order for remission of all of the amount or any part thereof. If it appears to the satisfaction of the court that payment of the amount due will impose manifest hardships on the defendant or the defendant's immediate family or that the circumstances of case disposition and the interests of justice so require, the court may remit all or part of the amount due or modify the method of payment.

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Payment of the amount due will impose manifest hardships on the defendant or the defendant's immediate family or that the circumstances of case disposition and the interests of justice so

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require.

At defendant's request before imposition of fine or fee Burden on defendant to show inability to pay Other No

Court will remit all or part of the amount due or modify the method of payment.

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Vermont Vt. Stat. Ann. tit. 13 § 7180(c)(3),(4)(C) Remedies for failure to pay fines, costs, surcharges, and penalties

(c) Civil contempt proceeding. (3) Hearing. --  The hearing shall be conducted in a summary manner. The court shall examine the defendant and any other witnesses and may require the defendant

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to produce documents relevant to the defendant's ability to pay the amount due. Evidence is admissible if it is of a type commonly relied upon by a reasonably prudent person in the conduct of his or her affairs. The Vermont Rules of Evidence shall not apply except that the rules related to privilege shall apply. The State shall not be a party except with the permission of the court. The defendant may be represented by counsel at the defendant's own expense.

(4)(C)  If the court concludes that the defendant is not in contempt because the defendant does not have the ability to pay the amount due, the court may: (i)  suspend all or any part of the amount due in the interests of justice, except that the court may not waive surcharges imposed pursuant to section 7282 of this title; (ii)  order the defendant to participate in the Restorative Justice Program conducted by a community reparative board and direct the reparative board to determine an appropriate amount of community service to be performed in lieu of all or part of the amount due.

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Not provided for

At enforcement of fine or fee Burden on defendant to show inability to pay Determined by judge after hearing Yes

Suspend all or any part of the amount due in the interests of justice, except that the court may not waive surcharges imposed pursuant to section 7282 of this title;

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order the defendant to participate in the Restorative Justice Program conducted by a community reparative board and direct the reparative board to determine an appropriate amount of community service to be performed in lieu of all or part of the amount due.

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Vermont Vt. Stat. Ann. tit. 13 § 7180(f) Community service for traffic offense

(f) (1)  A defendant who is not incarcerated may file a motion to convert all or part of a traffic offense fine to community service. The court may grant the motion if

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the defendant establishes that he or she has made a good faith effort to pay the fine but is unable to do so. A fine converted to community service pursuant to this subsection shall not be considered a modification of sentence and shall not be subject to the time limits of Vermont Rule of Criminal Procedure 35.

(2)  Community service performed pursuant to a motion granted under this subsection shall be: (A)  credited against outstanding fines at the then-existing rate of the Vermont minimum wage: (B)  monitored by Diversion, a restorative justice panel of a community justice center, or a similar entity approved by the court, that shall report on the defendant's compliance status to the court; (C)  performed in the county where the offense occurred.

(3)  A conversion of a fine to community service under this subsection: (A)  shall not apply to surcharges, court costs, or other assessments; (B)  shall be in addition to the contempt procedures applicable under this section.

Traffic

Made a good faith effort to pay the fine but is unable to do so.

At defendant's request at enforcement Burden on defendant to show inability to pay Other No

Convert to community service

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Vermont Vt. Stat. Ann. tit. 13 § 2022 Bad checks

A person who issues or passes a check or similar sight order for the payment of money, knowing that it will not be honored by the drawee, shall be imprisoned

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for not more than one year or fined not more than $ 1,000.00, or both. The court shall order restitution in the amount of the check or order, together with a service charge not to exceed $ 5.00, if it is established that the defendant has the ability to pay.

Misdemeanor

Not provided for

Before imposition of fine or fee Not provided for Not provided for Yes

No restitution or service charge ordered

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Vermont Vt. Stat. Ann. tit. 13 § 7043(d)(2),(e)(1) Restitution

(d) In awarding restitution, the Court shall make findings with respect to: . . . (2) The offender's current ability to pay restitution, based on all financial information available to

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the Court, including information provided by the offender.

(e)(1) An order of restitution shall establish the amount of the material loss incurred by the victim, which shall be the restitution judgment order. In the event the offender is unable to pay the restitution judgment order at the time of sentencing, the court shall establish a restitution payment schedule for the offender based upon the offender's current and reasonably foreseeable ability to pay, subject to modification under subsection (l) of this section. 

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Not provided for

Before imposition of fine or fee Not provided for Determined by judge after hearing Yes

Payment plan

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Vermont Vt. Stat. Ann. tit. 13 § 5238(b) Co-payment and reimbursement orders

(b)  The court shall require any person assigned counsel pursuant to section 5236 of this title to pay for all or part of the cost of representation based upon his or

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her ability to pay. Unless the person and cohabiting family members are found to be financially unable to pay, in all cases the court shall order a minimum payment of $ 50.00.

(f)  A person who may be or has been ordered to pay all or part of the cost of representation by co-payment or reimbursement order may at any time petition the court making the order for remission of all of the amount or any part thereof. If it appears to the satisfaction of the court that payment of the amount due will impose manifest hardships on the defendant or the defendant's immediate family or that the circumstances of case disposition and the interests of justice so require, the court may remit all or part of the amount due or modify the method of payment.

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Manifest hardships on the defendant or the defendant's immediate family or that the circumstances of case disposition and the interests of justice so require

Before imposition of fine or fee Not provided for Not provided for Yes

Not having to pay the cost or minimum fee for representation; court may remit all or part of the amount due or modify the method of payment.

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Vermont Vt. Stat. Ann. tit. 4 § 1109(c)(4)(A) Remedies for failure to pay; contempt

(4)(A) Hearing. The hearing shall be conducted in a summary manner. The hearing officer shall examine the defendant and any other witnesses and may require the defendant to produce documents

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relevant to the defendant's ability to pay the amount due. The State or municipality shall not be a party except with the permission of the hearing officer. The defendant may be represented by counsel at the defendant's own expense.

All

Not provided for

At enforcement of fine or fee Burden on defendant to show inability to pay Determined by judge after hearing No

May not be held in contempt for failure to pay.

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Vermont Vt. Stat. Ann. tit. 13 § 5255(b) Recovery from defendant

(b) The Defender General or the Commissioner of Taxes, on behalf of the State, may recover reimbursement from each person, other than a person covered by subsection (a) of this

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section, who has received legal assistance under this chapter and who, on the date on which suit is brought, is financially able to reimburse the State for it according to the standards of ability to pay applicable under subdivision 5201(3), section 5231, and subsection 5238 (b) of this title, but refuses to do so. Suit must be brought within three years after the date on which the benefit was received. The amount of recovery shall be equal to the average cost per case for representation supported by the budget of the Defender General for the calendar year in which legal assistance was completed as determined by the Defender General, less any reimbursement or co-payment actually paid for representation.

All

Not provided for

Before imposition of fine or fee Not provided for Not provided for No

State may not recover reimbursement for received legal assistance.

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Vermont Vt. Stat. Ann. tit. 13 § 5236 Determination of financial need

(a) The determination whether a person covered by sections 5231-5234 of this title is a needy person shall be deferred until his or her first appearance in court or in

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a suit for payment or reimbursement under section 5255 of this title, whichever occurs earlier. Thereafter, the court shall determine, with respect to each proceeding, whether the person is a needy person. As used in this section, an appeal is a separate proceeding. The determination of need, for purposes of an appeal, shall be based on a separate application submitted on or after the date of the order appealed from, except that an appeal from a proceeding under 33 V.S.A. chapter 51, 52, or 53 is not a separate proceeding and does not require a separate application.
(b) In determining whether a person is a needy person and the extent of his or her ability to pay, the court may consider such factors as income, property owned, outstanding obligations, and the number and ages of dependents as specified in rules of the Supreme Court adopted pursuant to section 5204 of this title. Release on bail does not necessarily disqualify a person from being a needy person. In each case, the person, subject to the penalties for perjury, shall certify in writing or by other record such information relating to ability to pay as the Supreme Court prescribes.
(c) A determination of whether a person is a needy person under this section shall be made by the clerk of the court, or any other judicial officer of the court. After review of the initial determination by the presiding judge of the trial court the applicant, the State, or the Office of the Defender General may appeal the determination to a single Justice of the Supreme Court of this State, in accordance with the rules of the Supreme Court.
(d) In determining whether a person is a needy person under this section and the extent of the person's ability to pay, the clerk of court or the judicial officer who is making that determination may require the applicant to provide proof of income at a time to be determined by the clerk or judicial officer.

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In determining whether a person is a needy person and the extent of his or her ability to pay, court may consider such factors as income, property owned, outstanding obligations,

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and the number and ages of dependents

Before imposition of fine or fee Not provided for Determined by judge without hearing No

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