Ala. R. Crim. P. 26.11

(a) IMPOSITION OF RESTITUTION. Restitution should be ordered in all cases

where a victim has been injured or damaged. The financial resources and

obligations of the defendant and the burden that payment of restitution will impose

should be considered in determining how much restitution is to be paid or collected,

i.e., whether to be paid by installments and what length of time should be given for

payment.

(b) IMPOSITION OF FINE. If the court is given authority to impose a fine, in

determining whether to impose a fine, the court should consider:

(1) Whether there are particular reasons which make a fine appropriate

as punishment for the defendant;

(2) The financial resources and obligations of the defendant and the

burden that payment of a fine will impose;

(3) The ability of the defendant to pay a fine forthwith on an installment

basis or on other conditions to be fixed by the court;

(4) The extent to which payment of a fine will interfere with the ability of

the defendant to make restitution or reparation to the victim of the crime; and

(5) The amount of gain derived by the defendant or loss sustained by

the victim as a result of defendant’s commission of the offense, which amount shall

be determined by the court from evidence presented at the sentence hearing if not

stipulated by the parties.

(c) IMPOSITION OF COSTS. Docket fees and other costs in criminal cases

shall be assessed upon conviction.

(d) DEFERRED AND INSTALLMENT PAYMENTS. If the defendant cannot pay

the costs, fine, and/or restitution immediately after pronouncement of the sentence

as preferred, the court may permit payment of the costs, fine, and/or restitution, at

some later date, or in specified installments.

(e) TO WHOM PAYMENT IS TO BE MADE. The payment of fines, costs, and

monetary restitution shall be made to the clerk of the court, unless the court

expressly directs otherwise.

(f) ACTION UPON FAILURE TO PAY FINE OR RESTITUTION.

(1) Defendants Not on Probation. If a defendant not on probation fails to

pay a fine or restitution, or any installment thereof, within the prescribed time, the

clerk shall notify the district attorney and the court.

(2) Defendants on Probation. If a defendant on probation fails to pay a

fine or restitution, or any installment thereof, within the prescribed time, the clerk

shall give notice of such delinquency to the defendant’s probation officer.

(3) When Payment Is to Be Made to Persons Other than the Clerk.

Whether or not the defendant is on probation, if the payment is to be made to

someone other than the clerk, the person to whom payment is to be made shall

notify the probation officer (if the defendant is on probation) or the court (if the

defendant is not on probation) of the defendant’s failure to pay.

(g) INQUIRY INTO DEFENDANT’S ABILITY TO PAY FINE OR RESTITUTION. If a

defendant fails to pay a fine or restitution as directed, the court may inquire

and cause an investigation to be made into the defendant’s financial,

employment, and family standing, and the reasons for nonpayment of the fine

and/or restitution, including whether nonpayment of the fine and/or restitution

was contumacious or due to indigency.

(h) REMEDIES FOR NONPAYMENT OF FINE OR RESTITUTION. If the defendant

fails to pay a fine and/or restitution, the court may:

(1) Reduce the fine to an amount the defendant is able to pay;

(2) Continue or modify the schedule of payments of the fine

and/or

restitution;

(3) Direct that the defendant be incarcerated until the unpaid fine

and/or restitution, or any portion thereof, is paid, subject, however, to

section (i) of this rule;

(4) Order an employer to withhold amounts from wages to pay

fines and/or restitution; or

(5) Release the defendant from obligation to pay the fine.

(i) INCARCERATION FOR NONPAYMENT OF FINE OR RESTITUTION.

(1) Incarceration shall not automatically follow the nonpayment of a fine

or restitution. Incarceration should be employed only after the court has examined

the reasons for nonpayment. After consideration of the defendant’s situation,

means, and conduct with regard to the nonpayment of the fine and/or restitution,

the court shall determine the period of any incarceration in default of payment of

the fine and/or restitution, subject to the following limitations:

(i) In no event shall such period of incarceration exceed one (1)

day for each fifteen dollars ($15.00) of the fine.

(ii) If the fine was imposed in connection with a felony, the period

of incarceration may not exceed one (1) year.

(iii) If the fine was imposed in connection with a misdemeanor or

municipal ordinance violation, the period of incarceration may not exceed

one-third (⅓) of the maximum term of incarceration authorized for the

offense.

(iv) If, at the time the fine was imposed or the restitution was

ordered, a sentence of incarceration was also imposed, the aggregate of

the period of incarceration imposed pursuant to this rule and the term of the

sentence originally imposed may not exceed the maximum term of

imprisonment authorized for the offense.

(2) In no case shall an indigent defendant be incarcerated for inability to

pay a fine or court costs or restitution.

(3) If the court orders a defendant to pay restitution imposed as a result

of a traffic infraction, the court may suspend the defendant's privilege to operate a

motor vehicle in this state upon a failure of the defendant to comply with the order

of the court. If the defendant's privilege to operate a motor vehicle has been

suspended for failure to comply with such a court order, the privilege may remain

suspended until the total amount of the restitution imposed is paid.

If the court orders a defendant to pay a fine, fees, or court costs as a result

of a traffic infraction, the court may not suspend the defendant's privilege to

operate a motor vehicle in this state upon the failure of the defendant to comply

with the order of the court, unless the court's order permits the payment of the

fine, fees, or court costs as a part of a payment plan and the defendant fails to

make three or more of the required payments.

(j) COLLECTION OF COSTS. Court costs shall be deemed part of the

penalty and the same procedures provided herein for nonpayment of fines shall

apply for nonpayment of costs.

(k) EXECUTION FOR FINE AND COSTS. If the fine or court costs are not

discharged by payment or by service of a period of incarceration in default of the

fine or court costs and if restitution is not discharged, the clerk may issue execution

for the fine, restitution, and costs adjudged, or any portion remaining unpaid. The

district attorney, or the county or municipal attorney, as applicable, shall institute

appropriate proceedings or take necessary action to collect unpaid fines,

restitution, and costs.