ED JONES, APPELLANT,
v.
STATE OF FLORIDA, APPELLEE
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The court held that the trial court erred in imposing 200 hours of community service in lieu of court costs when the statutory rate for crediting community service against costs exceeded the amount of costs owed.
[1] A statute providing for community service in lieu of court costs must be applied according to its terms, crediting each hour of service at a rate equivalent to minimum wa…
[2] When a statute mandates a specific credit rate for community service against court costs, imposing a fixed number of hours that far exceeds the statutory value of the cos…
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Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligenceAppellant was sentenced to 200 hours of community service in lieu of $200 in court costs, despite a statute providing that each hour of community serv…
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WENTWORTH, Judge.
Appellant seeks review of an order by which his motion for correction of sentence pursuant to Florida Rule of Criminal Procedure 3.850 was denied. He contends the trial court erred in imposing 200 hours of community service in lieu of $200 in court costs pursuant to section 27.3455, Florida Statutes (1985), where the statute provides that each hour of community service shall be credited against court costs at a rate equivalent to minimum wage. We agree and reverse.
Appellant on April 9, 1986, was adjudicated guilty of second degree murder and sentenced to 12 years incarceration. The trial court found appellant indigent for purposes of section 27.3455 and, pursuant to the statute, imposed 200 hours of community service in lieu of payment of $200 in court costs. In his motion appellant alleged that under section 27.3455 one hour of community service is to be credited against court costs at a rate equivalent to minimum wage. Appellant argued that 200 hours of community service at a rate equivalent to minimum wage equals approximately $700 in court costs, far in excess of the required $200. The court summarily denied appellant’s motion.
Section 27.3455, Florida Statutes (1985) provides that “[e]aeh hour of community service shall be credited against the additional cost imposed by the court at a rate equivalent to the minimum wage.” Although appellant fails to allege facts regarding what the minimum wage is and what the correct amount of community service-time would be at a rate equivalent to minimum wage, it is clear that 200 hours of community service credited against the costs at any minimum wage rate exceeding $1 per hour would equal more than the required $200. We therefore reverse and remand for resentencing.
Upon remand appellant will be resen-tenced under amended section 27.3455, Florida Statutes (1986 Supp.), which deletes the community service alternative for indigent defendants, and provides that any defendant found guilty of a felony is to be assessed $200 in court costs.
SMITH and SHIVERS, JJ., concur.
Cases With Similar Vibessemantic neighbors from the corpus
Citator
Cited By
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Calhoun v. State, 522 So. 2d 509 (Fla. 1st DCA 1988)…tion of imposing community service in lieu of costs for indigent defendants and the penalty provision for failure to pay fines. Riddell v. State, 509 So. 2d 956 (Fla. 1st DCA 1987); Brown v. State, 508 So. 2d 776 (Fla. 1st DCA 1987); Jones v. State, 507 So. 2d 763 (Fla. 1st DCA 1987). Accordingly, we reverse and remand for resentencing within the recommended sentencing guidelines and for rehearing on the issue of costs. REVERSED and REMANDED. ZEHMER and THOMPSON, JJ., concur.…
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Brown v. State, 508 So. 2d 776 (Fla. 1st DCA 1987)…under amended section 27.3455, Florida Statutes (1986 Supp.) which deletes the community service alternative for indigent defendants and provides that any defendant found guilty of a felony is to be assessed $200 in court costs. See Jones v. State, 507 So. 2d 763 (Fla. 1st DCA 1987). The other costs likewise shall be assessed without imposition of any community service. REVERSED. BOOTH, C.J., and ERVIN and SMITH, JJ., concur.…
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Riddell v. State, 509 So. 2d 956 (Fla. 1st DCA 1987)…imposition of costs. Harris v. State, 498 So. 2d 1371 (Fla. 1st DCA 1986); Lawton v. State, 492 So. 2d 404 (Fla. 1st DCA 1986). Upon remand, appellant will be resentenced under amended section 27.3455, Florida Statutes (1986 Supp.). Jones v. State, 507 So. 2d 763 (Fla. 1st DCA 1987). JOANOS and ZEHMER, JJ., concur. ON MOTION FOR CLARIFICATION WIGGINTON, Judge. The State moves this Court to clarify its opinion, and as grounds therefor says that our remanding the cause to the trial court to afford appellan…
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