Federal · Title 18 — Crimes and Criminal Procedure

18 U.S.C. § 3614: Resentencing upon failure to pay a fine or restitution

Civil

What this law says, in plain English

This statute establishes a court procedure allowing resentencing if a defendant knowingly fails to pay an ordered fine or restitution, provided the defendant willfully refused to pay or failed to make genuine payment efforts, and prohibits incarceration based solely on indigency.

Read the full statutory text

Subject to the provisions of subsection (b), if a defendant knowingly fails to pay a delinquent fine or restitution the court may resentence the defendant to any sentence which might originally have been imposed. the defendant willfully refused to pay the delinquent fine or had failed to make sufficient bona fide efforts to pay the fine; or in light of the nature of the offense and the characteristics of the person, alternatives to imprisonment are not adequate to serve the purposes of punishment and deterrence. In no event shall a defendant be incarcerated under this section solely on the basis of inability to make payments because the defendant is indigent.

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This page is legal information, not legal advice. Code text is sourced from official publications and may lag amendments — always confirm at the official source linked above. Plain-English summaries and relationship data are AI-derived and reviewed on an ongoing basis; verify with a licensed attorney before acting.