Do judges give out harsh punishments for unpaid credit card debt?

I am being sued for an ouststanding credit card debt worth $1600.00. For the exception of a seasonal job at tjmaxx that I had from the end of Nov. of last year to the beginning of Jan. of this year, I had no income coming in and was basically being supported by my fiance who also lost his job in 2009 because of health issues and is on social security dissability. I will be starting a new job within a couple of weeks but it is only a minimum wage position and is part-time so I would not be able to make big payments but I would do what I could. Would a judge be lenient on me and allow me to make some kind of arrangements with the collection company?