TIAWAGO D. PETTAWAY, APPELLANT,
v.
STATE OF FLORIDA, APPELLEE

Fla. 5th DCA | 2001-08-10
No. 5D00-1986
THOMPSON, CJ., and HARRIS, J., concur.
796 So. 2d 563 Florida District Court of Appeal, Fifth District (2001) Positive Treatment
Cited by 4 cases

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Synopsis

Pettaway appealed his sentencing for battery on a law enforcement officer, challenging the trial court's order requiring him to report to an Osceola County Collections Court Program to pay court costs and fees. The Florida Fifth District Court of Appeal affirmed, holding that after an amended administrative order, trial judges have discretion to refer defendants to the collections court program at sentencing.


Holding

The court affirmed the sentencing order, holding that after the October 18, 2000 amendment to the administrative order governing the Ninth Judicial Circuit, trial judges have discretion to refer defendants to the collections court program at sentencing, and that the program's establishment is authorized and properly created.


Headnotes

[1] A trial court may exercise its discretion to refer a defendant to a collections court program for payment of fines and costs when the administrative order governing the p…

[2] An amendment to an administrative order that allows trial judges to exercise discretion in using a collections program renders a prior case holding that the program impro…

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Key Quotes

“However, on October 18, 2000, the Chief Judge of the Ninth Judicial Circuit amended the administrative order to allow trial judges to exercise their discretion at the time of sentencing to use the collections program.”

Establishes that the amended administrative order cured the constitutional defect identified in Blackiston by granting trial judges discretion to use the collections court program.

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Facts & Procedural History

On July 6, 2000, Pettaway was sentenced to 36 months incarceration for battery on a law enforcement officer and ordered to pay $278 in court costs, $1…

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Opinion of the Court
SHARP, W., J.

Pettaway appeals from his judgment and sentence for battery on a law enforcement officer. On July 6, 2000, he was sentenced to thirty-six months incarceration for the battery,1 and was ordered to pay $278.00 in court costs, $150.00 for the courthouse, $600 for a public defender’s lien and $40 for D.E.R.P. The court required Pettaway to pay these costs through the Osceola County Collections Court Program and ordered Pettaway to report there within thirty days of his release. He argues the court erred in ordering him to report to the collections court.

On February 5, 2001, the court modified the order to require Pettaway to pay $30.00 per month beginning sixty days after his release from prison and exercised its discretion to refer Pettaway to the collections court. We affirm.

Pettaway argues that Blackiston v. State, 772 So. 2d 554 (Fla. 5th DCA 2000), is dispositive. In that case, this court held the prior administrative order, which created the collections court program in the Ninth Judicial Circuit,2 improperly limited the discretion of trial judges to use the program when they deemed it appropriate. However, on October 18, 2000, the Chief Judge of the Ninth Judicial Circuit amended the administrative order3 to allow trial judges to exercise their discretion at the time of sentencing to use the collections program. It is clear that on resentencing, after the date of the change to the administrative order, the trial judge in this case exercised that discretion. Thus, Blackiston is not on point.

Pettaway argues in addition that section 938.30 does not authorize the establishment of a new court or division entitled “Collections Courts;” and that the creation of a division of an existing court would have to be done by local rule approved by the Florida Supreme Court. We find no merit to these arguments.

AFFIRMED.

THOMPSON, CJ., and HARRIS, J., concur. . §§ 784.03; 784.07(2)(b), Fla. Stat. . The Ninth Circuit includes Orange and Osceola Counties.

. Amended Administrative Order 07-99-24-2 now provides:

1. When fines and costs are imposed at sentencing or reimposed pursuant to a modification or termination of probation, the judge may also order each defendant who does not pay the fines and court costs in full at the time of sentencing to comply with the terms of the Program. The sentencing judge may determine a monthly payment amount and a date on which the defendant shall begin making payments, (emphasis added)

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Citator

Cited By

  • Cordero v. State, 806 So. 2d 599 (Fla. 5th DCA 2002)
    …PER CURIAM. AFFIRMED. See Pettaway v. State, 796 So. 2d 563 (Fla. 5th DCA 2001); State v. Duggins, 691 So. 2d 566 (Fla. 2d DCA 1997). GRIFFIN, PALMER and ORFINGER, R. B., JJ., concur.…
  • Montealegre v. State, 799 So. 2d 1092 (Fla. 5th DCA 2001)
    …[*1093] PER CURIAM. AFFIRMED. See State v. Causey, 508 So. 2d 321 (Fla.1987); Pettaway v. State, 796 So. 2d 563 (Fla. 5th DCA 2001). THOMPSON, C.J., SHARP, W„ and PLEUS, JJ., concur.…

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