Art. 894.4 Probation; extension

If someone is on probation, the court can't send them to jail or make their probation longer just because they don't have the money to pay fines, fees, or money owed to a victim. Not being able to pay, on its own, isn't a good enough reason to punish someone further.

This protects people who genuinely can't afford to pay what they owe. Courts have to look at whether someone actually has the ability to pay before deciding to revoke or extend their probation over unpaid money. If a person is simply poor and struggling financially, that alone can't be used against them in this way.

That said, this rule only covers situations where inability to pay is the sole reason. If someone also breaks other rules of their probation, like committing a new crime or missing meetings with their probation officer, the court can still take action based on those separate violations.