Summati
n Weekly USPS Publication Number 16300
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T h i s C o m mu n i t y N ew s p a p e r is a publication of Escambia / Santa Rosa Bar Association
Section A, Page 1
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Vol. 16, No. 42
October 26, 2016
Court Costs And Fines In Criminal Cases
1 Section, 8 Pages
By Cathy Reynolds, Former Court Services Manager Where do court costs come from? How does one determine
how much should be assessed in either a misdemeanor case or felony case? What about the costs on a noncriminal infraction? How are fines and costs paid by defendants? Does the Clerk’s office keep all of the money collected? No one statute, or chapter, in the Florida Statutes will give you these answers. How does one determine how much is owed in fines and court costs? Court costs and fines have a basis in numerous statutes and ordinances. While Chapter 938, Florida Statutes, contains the majority of the mandatory and discretionary costs in criminal cases, Chapters 775 and 318 contain several mandatory and discretionary costs, as well. Additional costs can be found in other areas of the statutes. A review of these chapters shows the complexity of determining the amount of mandatory assessments in a given case. Several costs apply per case while other costs apply per charge. Some statutes apply a cost to all misdemeanor, or all felony cases, while other statutes apply a cost to violations of specific charges only. Fines and court costs are divided into two categories: mandatory and discretionary. Florida Statute §28.2457 requires mandatory assessments to be imposed regardless of whether or not the assessment is announced in open court. This provision applies to any type of assessment deemed mandatory by statute—a fine, fee, service charge, or cost. First Judicial Circuit Administrative Order No. 2014-23 further directs the Clerk to assess all mandatory assessments in a case regardless of whether or not they were announced in open court. It further directs the Clerk to include the mandatory assessments on the written judgment and sentence sent to the judge for signature. Discretionary costs can only be assessed when announced by the judge and must be based on statutory authority.
on any amount referred to it for collections. The Clerk is tasked with attempting to collect the money prior to sending it to an outside agency. In Escambia County, the Clerk has set up a Collections Division, which is focused strictly on the collection of court costs and fines. The Collections Division works withdefendants either to make payments on their cases or enter into payment plans so they can comply with the payment of the court ordered costs and fines. Section 322.245 provides two alternative provisions under which a defendant’s license may be suspended for failure to pay financial obligations or for failure to comply with court directives. To clear this suspension, a defendant must pay their court costs and fines in full or enter into a payment plan with the Clerk. If other directives of the court are holding the license, such as a class, those items must be completed before a suspension may be lifted. The Clerk does not suspend a defendant’s driver’s license; rather, that action is taken by the Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles. In accordance with the statute, the Clerk informs Escambia/Santa Rosa Bar Association DHSMV when financial obligations remain unpaid.
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Why does the Clerk collect fines and court costs?
placed on probation and he or she is given the term of probation to pay his or her court costs and fines. Another common scenario is for a judge to order that costs and fines have to be paid by a certain date, which is typically a few months from the date of sentencing. At the time of sentencing, the judge has the option to provide the defendant with a folder to take to the Clerk’s office. This folder communicates the necessary sentence and disposition information from the court room deputy clerk to the clerk in the records division, or collections division, in order for those personnel Spring 2016 to add the costs and fines to the case and explain the payment options to the defendant.
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What are a defendant’s payment options? Volume 5 / Issue 1 Who receives the money A defendant has three options collected by the clerk?
The monies collected by the Clerk’s office are distributed in accordance with §28.246(5) to the Department of Revenue, state trust funds, counties, local municipalities and to the clerk’s operating budget. To determine which of these numerous state and local funds should receive the money, the Clerk’s office has to and review all of the statutory references that form the basis of the court costs and fines to determine the distribution. For some costs, a single statute may set out one amount that is to be assessed and then direct the distribution of the amount to multiple locations. The base mandatory court costs in a misdemeanor or felony case ($273 or $518) is dispersed to 14 different accounts by the Clerk’s office. A speeding ticket will have the statutory fine disbursed to 13 different accounts while the statutory costs are disbursed to page 16 11 different accounts. The Clerk’s fines. First, a defendant can pay the case management system tracks the amount in full. Second, a defendant receipt of the money and distribution may make partial payments towards of the funds to the various agencies the court costs and fines. In and funds. The collected money is accordance with §28.24(26)(b), the distributed monthly and reported to Clerk’s office assesses a $5 partial the state. We hope this article has payment fee per month for each been helpful and informative. month when a partial payment is March 2016 www.esrba.com The Summation 1 made. The third option is for a defendant to enter into a payment 3/11/16 11:53 AM plan with the Clerk’s office. A onetime administrative fee of $25 is charged to set up the plan in For additional accordance with §28.24(26)(c). information, or to Under this option, a defendant makes have a conversation regular monthly payments until the court costs and fines are paid in full. regarding court A defendant that is unable to pay costs and fines, their court costs and fines may please contact the request that the judge find them indigent for costs and authorize Court Services community service work to be Manager at the completed in lieu of payment. Clerk’s office, Community service work hours are credited and applied to court costs 850-595-4137. and fines at the then-current state minimum hourly wage, which is $8.05 per hour for 2016. Additionally, a judge may order that available for paying court costs and
Felony and
Misdemeanor
Mandatory
Payment Plans
Liens
Costs & Fines in Criminal Court
Discretionary
Restitution
Collections
The Clerk is the governmental Where does a defendant pay body mandated to collect fines court costs? and court costs in criminal cases, The clerk collects all financial including costs such as the Public obligations ordered as part of a Defender’s application fee and criminal defendant’s sentence with the State Attorney’s prosecution two main exceptions. The clerk does charges. Section 28.246 requires not collect the cost of supervision, or the Clerks to have accounts in place any other fees incurred for testing, for receiving court costs and fines. classes, or other services provided by The various statutes in Chapter 938 third-party vendors or the probation indicate that costs are either to be Summation Mar 2016.indd 1 office while on probation. These paid to the Clerk or collected by the costs are paid directly to County Clerk. Sections 938.29 and 938.30 Probation or State Probation. have language requiring the Clerk Second, restitution amounts are to enforce and dispose of debts and typically paid through the probation liens created when a defendant has office when probation is part of the received either the services of a sentence. If a defendant is ordered public defender or owes on other to pay restitution and they are financial obligations in a criminal not on probation, then the Clerk’s case. Florida law authorizes, and in office may collect and distribute the some situations mandates, the Clerk restitution. to take action to collect The court costs and fines ordered mandatory costs and fines. Section as part of a sentence, whether 28.246(6) directs the Clerk to mandatory or discretionary, are due pursue collection of any fee, service on the day of sentencing unless charges, fines, court costs and liens the court announces another time which remain unpaid after 90 days period during which they are to be by referring the case to collections. paid. This alternative time period is A collection agency can add up to generally seen when a defendant is an additional 40 percent charge
the costs be reduced to a lien at the time of sentencing or at a violation of probation hearing. This action can cause up to three judgments to be entered against the defendant for court costs and fines, probation costs, and restitution amounts. When these judgments are entered they are recorded in official records and become liens on any real property of the defendant. The reduction of the amounts due to a lien does not replace a defendant’s requirement to pay the amounts due; instead they serve as an additional method for securing payment. When a judgment is entered, it accrues interest at the statutory rate until the amount is paid in full or is placed into a payment plan.
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