As a district judge, can I incarcerate someone for nonpayment of the fines, costs, not showing up for a hearing or completing their agreement?

The answer is absolutely not. The world has changed quite a bit. If this was 20 years ago, the answer would have been yes, and they can be sent to jail to work off their fines. This was a fairly common practice in the ’80s, ’90s and until very recently. Now, a judge who would incarcerate someone because they were poor and could not pay fines could face potentially very serious discipline. The world has changed and there is disciplinary action pending against one or two judges who have placed people in custody and not done payment determination hearings.

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