ZEBBIE EDWARDS, APPELLANT,
v.
STATE OF FLORIDA, APPELLEE
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Edwards appealed her sentencing, challenging the imposition of a discretionary court cost and a special probation condition requiring her to pay for drug evaluation. The appellate court agreed that both the cost and special condition were imposed in violation of procedural requirements and reversed those portions of the sentence.
Yes to both issues. The trial court must consider the defendant's financial resources before assessing discretionary costs and must orally announce such costs at sentencing. Similarly, special conditions of probation, such as payment for drug or alcohol evaluation, must be orally pronounced at sentencing and are void if not announced.
[1] A trial court must consider a defendant's financial resources and other factors before assessing discretionary costs.
[2] A trial court must orally pronounce discretionary costs at sentencing.
Previewing 2 of 4 headnotes on this case. FLexlaw’s editorially structured points of law — every proposition, pinpointed — are reserved for members.
Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligence“the court is obligated to consider the defendant's financial resources and other factors in making the decision to assess ... costs.”
Establishes the requirement that courts must consider a defendant's ability to pay before imposing discretionary costs
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Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligenceEdwards was sentenced and the trial court imposed a $150 discretionary cost pursuant to section 939.18, Florida Statutes, without determining her abil…
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[*1198] GREEN, Judge.
The appellant, Zebbie Edwards, contends that the trial court erred in imposing a discretionary court cost and in imposing a special condition on her probation. We agree. Edwards also claims that the trial court erred in imposing costs as conditions of probation as opposed to liens in violation of her plea agreement. We affirm on this point without comment.
Edwards filed a motion to correct sentencing errors below pursuant to rule 3.800, Florida Rules of Criminal Procedure, which should have been granted in part. The trial court failed to rule on the motion within the allotted time, and therefore, the motion was deemed denied. See Fla. R.Crim. P. 3.800(b)(1)(A).
Edwards argues that the trial court erred in imposing a discretionary cost without determining her ability to pay the cost and without orally announcing same at sentencing. This court has held that “the court is obligated to consider the defendant’s financial resources and other factors in making the decision to assess ... costs.” Reyes v. State, 655 So. 2d 111, 119 (Fla. 2d DCA 1995). In addition, the court has held that the trial court is required to orally announce discretionary costs. See id. at 116. Because these requirements were not followed, we strike the imposition of $150 cost entered pursuant to section 939.18, Florida Statutes (2001), and remand for further proceedings. The cost at issue may be reimposed provided the court considers Edwards’ financial ability to pay the cost and orally announces imposition of the cost. See Armstrong v. State, 696 So. 2d 913 (Fla. 2d DCA 1997).
Edwards also contends, and the State concedes, that the trial court erred in imposing a special condition of probation that she pay for her drug evaluation whereas this was not orally announced. As this court explained in Garrison v. State, 685 So. 2d 53, 54 (Fla. 2d DCA 1996), a special condition, such as payment for alcohol or drug evaluation, must be stricken where the trial court fails to orally pronounce the special condition at sentencing. Therefore, we strike the special condition requiring Edwards to pay for drug evaluation.
Reversed in part, affirmed in part, and remanded for further proceedings.
BLUE, C.J., and FULMER, J., concur.
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Ayoub v. State, 901 So. 2d 311 (Fla. 2d DCA 2005)…rs and condition 25 of the community control orders, which require Ayoub to submit to and pay [*314] for evaluation and treatment for alcohol and illegal drugs, are special conditions that the trial court must orally pronounce. See Edwards v. State, 814 So. 2d 1197, 1198 (Fla. 2d DCA 2002); Boyd v. State, 688 So. 2d 959, 960 (Fla. 2d DCA 1997). He argues that the trial court did not orally pronounce the conditions and, therefore, that the conditions must be stricken. In Boyd, this court struck conditions of d…
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Freddrick Lee Cook v. State, 896 So. 2d 870 (Fla. 2d DCA 2005)…la. 2d DCA 1996). We recognize that language in two recent cases could be misconstrued as requiring a trial court to consider ability to pay in assessing the public defender fee or any other cost considered to be discretionary. In Edwards v. State, 814 So. 2d 1197, 1198 (Fla. 2d DCA 2002) (citing Reyes, 655 So. 2d at 119), this court stated: “This court has held that ‘the court is obligated to consider the defendant’s financial resources and other factors in making the decision to assess ... costs.’ ” This la…
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Huesca v. State, 841 So. 2d 585 (Fla. 2d DCA 2003)…ant to section 939.18(l)(b), Florida Statues (2001). This court previously has held that “the [trial] court is obligated to consider the defendant’s financial resources and other factors in making the decision to assess ... costs.” Edwards v. State, 814 So. 2d 1197, 1198 (Fla. 2d DCA 2002) (citing Reyes v. State, 655 So. 2d 111, 119 (Fla. 2d DCA 1995)). The trial court also is required to orally announce the imposition of discretionary costs. Id. Here, the record reveals that the trial court failed to orally…
Previewing 3 of 9 citing cases — full citator treatment, depth of discussion, and citing context are member features.
Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligenceAuthorities Cited
- Abel Oliveros Reyes v. State, 655 So. 2d 111 (Fla. 2d DCA 1995)
- Armstrong v. State, 696 So. 2d 913 (Fla. 2d DCA 1997)
- Garrison v. State, 685 So. 2d 53 (Fla. 2d DCA 1996)