When You Cannot Pay
A.R.S. 13-810 — contempt only where the failure to pay was wilful or the effort was refused
Show cause. When a defendant defaults on a fine, surcharge, fee, assessment, or incarceration costs, the court requires the defendant to show cause why the default should not be treated as contempt.
Wilful default. Only if the court finds the defendant wilfully failed to pay, or intentionally refused to make a good faith effort to obtain the money, does it find contempt, and may then order incarceration until a specified part is paid, refer for revocation of probation, or enter another order the statute allows.
Not wilful. If the default is not wilful and the defendant cannot pay despite sufficient good faith efforts to obtain the money, the court may modify the manner in which the amount is to be paid, or enter any reasonable order that would assure compliance.
The examination. At the hearing, the defendant may be examined under oath about financial condition, employment, and assets.
Restitution to a victim, license holds for unpaid fines, and the constitutional rule against jailing someone only for being poor are not set out on this page. What a court will do in a particular case is a question for a licensed Arizona attorney.
Sources for this section (1)
- A.R.S. 13-810 — Consequences of nonpayment, and wilful default
Legal information, not legal advice. Verified as of September 2026. Applying it to a particular situation is the work of a licensed Arizona attorney.