JERRY GORDON, APPELLANT,
v.
STATE OF FLORIDA, APPELLEE
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Gordon appeals the $222.00 in court costs imposed as part of his sentence. The Fifth District Court of Appeal reverses the $200.00 cost assessment under section 27.3455 as an ex post facto violation for a crime committed before the statute's effective date, and reverses the remaining $22.00 costs without prejudice, finding no determination of ability to pay for an indigent defendant.
Court costs cannot be assessed against an indigent defendant without a determination of ability to pay. Section 27.3455 costs imposed for crimes committed prior to July 1, 1985 violate ex post facto provisions. The $200.00 cost is reversed; the remaining $22.00 costs are reversed without prejudice.
[1] Court costs may not be assessed against an indigent defendant without a determination of their ability to pay.
[2] Application of a statute imposing court costs to crimes committed prior to the statute's effective date may violate ex post facto provisions.
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Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligence“Costs may not be assessed against an indigent defendant without a determination that he has the ability to pay.”
Establishes the legal standard requiring ability-to-pay determinations for indigent defendants before assessing costs
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Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligenceGordon was sentenced and assessed $222.00 in court costs: $200.00 under section 27.3455 and $22.00 under sections 960.20 and 943.25(4). Gordon had bee…
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SHARP, Judge.
Gordon appeals that part of his sentence which imposes $222.00 in court costs. The costs were assessed pursuant to three separate statutory provisions: $200.00 under section 27.3455, Florida Statutes (1985), and the remaining $22.00 under sections 960.20 and 943.25(4), Florida Statutes (1983).
Gordon had been found to be indigent for the purposes of trial and appeal, and no inquiry was made as to whether he had the ability to pay costs. Costs may not be assessed against an indigent defendant without a determination that he has the ability to pay. Jenkins v. State, 444 So. 2d 947 (Fla.1984).
In addition, the crime for which Gordon was sentenced was committed in January 1985, and section 27.3455, which provides for imposition of $200.00 court costs when any person is convicted of a felony under the laws of this state, did not become effective until July 1, 1985. In Yost v. State, 489 So. 2d 131 (Fla. 5th DCA 1986), we held that court costs imposed under section 27.3455 for crimes committed prior to July 1, 1985, violated the ex post facto provisions of the United States and Florida Constitutions.1 See also Robinson v. State, 488 So. 2d 925 (Fla. 5th DCA 1986). We again certify to the Supreme Court of Florida the following question of great public importance, which was also certified in Yost and Robinson:
DOES THE APPLICATION OF SECTION 27.3455, FLORIDA STATUTES (1985) TO CRIMES COMMITTED PRIOR TO THE EFFECTIVE DATE OF THE STATUTE VIOLATE THE EX POST FACTO PROVISIONS OF THE CONSTITUTIONS OF THE UNITED STATES AND OF THE STATE OF FLORIDA, OR DOES THE STATUTE MERELY EFFECT A PROCEDURAL CHANGE AS IS PERMITTED UNDER STATE v. JACKSON, 478 So. 2d 1054 (FLA.1985)?
That portion of the judgment imposing court costs of $200.00 is reversed because Gordon’s offense was committed prior to the effective date of section 27.3455, and that portion of the judgment imposing the remaining court costs is reversed without prejudice to the state to prove entitlement to those costs.
SENTENCE REVERSED IN PART; REMANDED.
UPCHURCH, C.J., and DAUKSCH, J., concur. . U.S. CONST., art. I, § 9. cl. 3; Art. I, § 10. Fla. Const.
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Stone v. State, 500 So. 2d 572 (Fla. 2d DCA 1986)…e, 495 So. 2d 868 (Fla. 2d DCA 1986); Bennett v. State, 495 So. 2d 239 (Fla. 5th DCA 1986); Slaughter v. State, 493 So. 2d 1109 (Fla. 1st DCA 1986) [consolidating sixteen cases]; Miller v. State, 492 So. 2d 1191 (Fla. 5th DCA 1986); Gordon v. State, 497 So. 2d 661 (Fla. 5th DCA 1986); Williams v. State, 492 So. 2d 784 (Fla. 5th DCA 1986); Signorelli v. State, 491 So. 2d 349 (Fla. 4th DCA 1986); Moseley v. State, 491 So. 2d 336 (Fla. 3d DCA 1986); McDowell v. [*574] State, 491 So. 2d 594 (Fla. 5th DCA 1986); F…
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Gaffney v. State, 497 So. 2d 1292 (Fla. 5th DCA 1986)…posed and, alternatively, failed to give the indigent defendant a term of community service in lieu of payment of costs. See Lawton v. State, 492 So. 2d 404 (Fla. 1st DCA 1986).2 See also Jenkins v. State, 444 So. 2d 947 (Fla.1984); Gordon v. State, 497 So. 2d 661 (Fla. 5th DCA 1986). The judgment and sentence are affirmed except that portion of the judgment imposing costs under section 27.3455, Florida Statutes, is vacated and the cause remanded for further proceedings. AFFIRMED IN PART; REVERSED IN PART;…
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Outar v. State, 508 So. 2d 1311 (Fla. 5th DCA 1987)…Fla. 5th DCA 1986); Butler v. State, 498 So. 2d 611 (Fla. 5th DCA 1986); Evins v. State, 497 So. 2d 1293 (Fla. 5th DCA 1986); Gaffney v. State, 497 So. 2d 1292 (Fla. 5th DCA 1986), re [*1312] view denied, 506 So. 2d 1041 (Fla.1987); Gordon v. State, 497 So. 2d 661 (Fla. 5th DCA 1986); Maxwell v. State, 492 So. 2d 841 (Fla. 5th DCA 1986); Williams v. State, 492 So. 2d 784 (Fla. 5th DCA 1986); Fletcher v. State, 491 So. 2d 354 (Fla. 5th DCA), review denied, 500 So. 2d 545 (Fla.1986); Brooks v. State, 490 So. 2d…
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Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligenceAuthorities Cited
- Jenkins v. State, 444 So. 2d 947 (Fla. 1984)
- State v. Jackson, 478 So. 2d 1054 (Fla. 1985)
- Yost v. State, 489 So. 2d 131 (Fla. 5th DCA 1986)
- Wanita Robinson v. State, 488 So. 2d 925 (Fla. 5th DCA 1986)