Tap any paragraph to write a margin note. Your notes collect in the Desk below the text and file under cases with @. The side-by-side margin rail opens on a larger screen.

§
Marginalia
Code · Massachusetts · Part I — ADMINISTRATION OF THE GOVERNMENT · Title XVIII — PRISONS, IMPRISONMENT, PAROLES AND PARDONS · Chapter 127

Section 145: Confinement of persons for non-payment of money owed

384 words·~2 min read·/ma/part-i/title-xviii/chapter-127/145·

A research copy — for the controlling text, always check the official state or federal source. Not legal advice.

Section 145.
(a)A court shall not commit a person to a correctional facility solely for non-payment of money owed if such person has established, by a preponderance of the evidence, that the person is unable to pay the fine without causing substantial financial hardship to the person or their immediate family or dependents. A court shall determine whether the payment of a fine would cause such substantial financial hardship after a hearing and, in making such determination, shall consider the person's employment status, income, financial resources, living expenses, number of dependents and any special circumstances that may affect a person's ability to pay.
(b)A court shall not commit a person to a correctional facility for non-payment of money owed if such a person is not represented by counsel for the commitment proceeding, unless such person has waived counsel. A person deemed indigent for the purpose of being offered counsel and who is assigned counsel for the commitment portion of a proceeding solely for the nonpayment of money owed shall not be assessed a fee for such counsel.
(c)Courts may consider alternatives to incarceration before committing a person to a prison or place of confinement solely for non-payment of a fine or a fine and expenses.
(d)If a court determines that the payment of a fine would cause a substantial financial hardship pursuant to subsection (a), the court may impose an alternative to a fine or sentence to a correctional facility including, without limitation, community service.
(e)A justice of the trial court shall not commit a person who has not reached 18 years of age to a prison, place of confinement or the department of youth services solely for the non-payment of money.
(f)A person confined to a correctional facility for non-payment of money owed may petition the court for discharge from the correctional facility for an inability to pay the money owed due to a substantial financial hardship. If, after a hearing pursuant to subsection (a), the court determines that the person is not able to pay the money owed without causing a substantial financial hardship to the person, or the person's immediate family or dependents, the court shall discharge the person from the correctional facility. No filing fee shall be charged for the filing of the petition.
★   the supreme law of the land   ★
Don't Tread on Me
E Pluribus Unum — out of many, one

"If you don't know your rights, you don't have any."

Marginalia · a citizen's law index
A research desk, not legal advice. Always read the cited source before relying on a summary.
Questions or an issue? support@self-law.org
disclaimerMarginalia is a research index, not a law firm. Nothing on this site is legal, tax, or financial advice and no attorney–client relationship is formed by using it. Statutes, regulations, and case law change; summaries, search results, AI output, and member posts may be incomplete, out of date, or wrong. Any interpretation drawn from material on this site should be validated by a licensed attorney in your jurisdiction before you act on it.