(a) (1) When a defendant sentenced to pay a fine or costs defaults in the payment of the fine or costs or of any installment, upon the court's own motion or that of the prosecuting attorney, the court may require the person to show cause why he or she should not be imprisoned for nonpayment.
(2) The court may issue a warrant of arrest or a summons for the defendant's appearance.
(3) (A) The court may order the defendant imprisoned in the county jail or other authorized institution designated by the court until the fine or costs or a specified part of the fine or costs is paid unless the defendant shows that his or her default was not attributable to a:
(i) Purposeful refusal to obey the sentence of the court; or
(ii) Failure on the defendant's part to make a good faith effort to obtain the funds required for payment.
(B) The period of imprisonment shall not exceed the shorter period of:
(i) One (1) day for each forty dollars ($40.00) of the fine or costs;
(ii) Thirty (30) days if the fine or costs were imposed upon conviction of a misdemeanor; or
(iii) One (1) year if the fine or costs were imposed upon conviction of a felony.
(4) If the court determines that the default in payment of fine or costs is not attributable to a cause specified in subdivision (a)(3)(A) of this section, the court may enter an order:
(A) Allowing the defendant additional time for payment;
(B) Reducing the amount of each installment; or
(C) Revoking the fine or costs or the unpaid portion of the fine or costs in whole or in part.
(b) (1) When a defendant sentenced to pay a fine or costs defaults in the payment of the fine or costs or of any installment, the clerk of the court in which payment is due shall:
(A) Submit the last known address provided to the court by the defendant to the Department of Finance and Administration; and
(B) Notify the department to suspend any driver's license held by the defendant.
(2) Upon receipt of notification under subdivision (b)(1) of this section, the department shall notify the defendant that his or her driver's license will be suspended thirty (30) days from the date of the notice.
(3) Notice from the department is sufficient if mailed to the defendant at either the:
(A) Last known address provided to the court by the defendant; or
(B) Address used by the defendant on any driver's license.
(4) Except as notified otherwise by the clerk of the court, the department shall suspend any driver's license held by the defendant as provided in this subsection.
(5) The defendant is entitled to retain or regain any driver's license if:
(A) The default is cured and the clerk of the court notifies the department to cancel or release the suspension; or
(B) The court orders reinstatement.
(c) (1) (A) When a corporation is sentenced to pay a fine or costs, it is the duty of the person authorized to make disbursements from the assets of the corporation to pay the fine or costs.
(B) If a disbursement under subdivision (c)(1)(A) of this section requires approval of the board of directors, it is the duty of the board of directors to authorize a disbursement to pay the fine or costs.
(2) Failure to comply with a duty imposed by this subsection renders a person or a director subject to imprisonment under subdivisions (a)(1)-(3) of this section.
History. Acts 1975, No. 280, § 1103; A.S.A. 1947, § 41-1103; Acts 1995 No. 1116, § 1; 2001, No. 1553, § 5; 2003, No. 110, § 1.
Amendments. The 2001 amendment added the subdivision designations in (a)(3) and (c); in (b)(1), substituted “shall submit” for “shall notify the Department of Finance and Administration, along with” and inserted “to the Department of Finance and Administration and shall notify the department”; substituted “department” for “Department of Finance and Administration” in (b)(2) and (b)(5)(A)(ii); and substituted “of the notice” for “of notice” in (b)(2).
The 2003 amendment, in (a)(3)(B), added subdivision designations and made stylistic changes; and substituted “forty dollars ($40.00)” for “ten dollars ($10.00)” in present (a)(3)(B)(i).
Case Notes
In General.
Enforcement.
Jurisdiction.
Probation.
Suspended Sentence.
This section basically codifies the principle that a sentence to imprisonment for nonpayment of a fine works an invidious discrimination against indigent defendants in violation of the equal protection clause of the Fourteenth Amendment. Drain v. State, 10 Ark. App. 338, 664 S.W.2d 484 (1984).
There is no provision in this section for a statute of limitations on the period of time in which the court can enforce payment or for the application of a speedy trial rule. Basura v. City of Springdale, 47 Ark. App. 66, 884 S.W.2d 629 (1994).
Where the defendant failed to pay the fine and costs he was sentenced to pay after entering a guilty plea to driving while intoxicated, the trial court retained jurisdiction until any fine, costs, or restitution were paid. Basura v. City of Springdale, 47 Ark. App. 66, 884 S.W.2d 629 (1994).
Defendant's sentence had been placed into execution when the judgment and commitment order was entered in 1999; however, the trial court neither revoked defendant's probation nor modified his sentence by the commitment or fines order in the March 2002 proceeding as the proceeding was not brought pursuant to a show-cause order, and there was no evidence that the commitment was not in lieu of payment for fines assessed in connection with defendant's 1999 guilty plea or that he did not receive credit on his fine for the days of commitment. Turner v. State, 88 Ark. App. 40, 194 S.W.3d 225 (2004).
The state has an interest in punishment and deterrence and is justified in pursuing a revocation of probation and the sentencing of a probationer for nonpayment of a fine when the defendant has willfully failed to pay the fine or failed to make bona fide efforts to do so. Drain v. State, 10 Ark. App. 338, 664 S.W.2d 484 (1984).
In revocation proceedings for failure to pay a fine or restitution, a sentencing court must inquire into the reasons for the failure to pay. If the probationer willfully refused to pay or failed to make sufficient bona fide efforts legally to acquire the resources to pay, the court may revoke probation and sentence the defendant to imprisonment within the authorized range of its sentencing authority; if the probationer could not pay despite sufficient bona fide efforts to acquire the resources to do so, the court must consider alternate measures of punishment other than imprisonment. Drain v. State, 10 Ark. App. 338, 664 S.W.2d 484 (1984).
Trial court did not lack jurisdiction to revoke defendant's probation as the trial court's commitment of defendant at an earlier revocation hearing was not a modification; the trial court was acting pursuant to this section for the nonpayment of fines and costs. Turner v. State, 88 Ark. App. 40, 194 S.W.3d 225 (2004).
Where more time had passed since the defendant was given a suspended sentence on the condition that he pay court costs and a fine than the length of the sentence, the trial court no longer had the authority to revoke the suspended sentence for the defendant's failure to pay the fine. Drain v. State, 10 Ark. App. 338, 664 S.W.2d 484 (1984).
Cited: Cessor v. State, 282 Ark. 330, 668 S.W.2d 525 (Ark. 1984); Jones v. State, 297 Ark. 485, 763 S.W.2d 81 (1989); Jones v. State, 54 Ark. App. 150, 924 S.W.2d 470 (1996).