WILLIAM LESLIE BASS, APPELLANT,
v.
STATE OF FLORIDA, APPELLEE

Fla. 2d DCA | 2004-05-26
No. 2D02-3494
SALCINES and COVINGTON, JJ., concur.
873 So. 2d 569 Florida District Court of Appeal, Second District (2004) Positive Treatment
Cited by 3 cases

AI-generated. These summaries, headnotes, and key points are machine-generated and may contain errors or omissions. Always verify against the full opinion text below. Not legal advice.

Synopsis

William Leslie Bass appealed his DUI manslaughter conviction and sentence, challenging certain fines, costs, and restitution imposed by the trial court. The appellate court affirmed the conviction and most of the sentence but reversed portions relating to improper costs and unsupported restitution.


Holding

The court reversed and remanded as to the $150 cost and the $131 restitution amount, both of which must be stricken. The court affirmed the $548.71 extradition cost but remanded for correction of a scrivener's error in the written judgment to conform to the trial court's oral pronouncement.


Headnotes

[1] A discretionary cost imposed pursuant to section 939.18, Florida Statutes, must be stricken if the defendant did not receive notice of the cost at the time of sentencing.

[2] Costs of extradition, considered discretionary costs of prosecution under section 938.27(1), Florida Statutes, may be validly imposed if expressly requested by the State…

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Key Quotes

“this cost must be stricken as a discretionary cost of which Bass did not receive notice at the time of sentencing”

Establishes that discretionary costs require notice to defendant at sentencing to be valid

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Facts & Procedural History

Bass was convicted of DUI manslaughter arising from a crash in St. Petersburg in which Abby Priest was killed. At sentencing, the trial court imposed …

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Opinion of the Court
WALLACE, Judge.

WALLACE, Judge.

William Leslie Bass appeals from his judgment and sentence for driving under the influence (DUI) manslaughter arising from a crash in St. Petersburg in which Abby Priest was killed. Of three issues raised, only one merits discussion and requires reversal with respect to the imposition of certain fines, costs, and restitution. The judgment and sentence are affirmed in all other respects.

In a motion filed pursuant to Florida Rule of Criminal Procedure 3.800(b)(2), Bass preserved three challenges to the written judgment for fines and costs and the order and judgment of restitution. See Fla. RApp. P. 9.140(e)(2). The motion was not ruled upon within sixty days and is deemed denied. See O’Neill v. State, 841 So. 2d 629, 629 (Fla. 2d DCA 2003). First, Bass challenges $150 imposed as a cost pursuant to section 939.18, Florida Statutes (2000). We agree — and the State concedes — that this cost must be stricken as a discretionary cost of which Bass did not receive notice at the time of sentencing. See Reyes v. State, 655 So. 2d 111, 116 (Fla. 2d DCA 1995) (en banc).

Second, Bass challenges $548.71 imposed as a cost in response to the State’s oral request at the sentencing hearing for the costs of extradition. Bass contends that this cost should be stricken because the request was not made in writing with documentation of the cost. We disagree. The costs of extradition — considered discretionary costs of prosecution authorized by section 938.27(1) — may be validly imposed if the State expressly requests them and the defendant has notice before sentencing. See Thompson v. State, 699 So. 2d 329, 329 (Fla. 2d DCA 1997) (considering the statute as previously numbered section 939.01); Reyes, 655 So. 2d at 117 (same). Although written requests are strongly encouraged, an oral request may be sufficient to “document” the request to satisfy the statutory requirements. Reyes, 655 So. 2d at 119. Accordingly, we affirm this cost, but we remand for correction of a scrivener’s error. At the sentencing hearing, the trial court orally pronounced $548.71 as the cost of extradition. The trial court’s oral pronouncement was accurate. However, the written judgment for fines and costs references $548.71 as “Court Costs / 86-15 AO.” On remand, the trial court must correct the written judgment for fines and costs to conform with the trial court’s oral pronouncement.

Third, Bass challenges $131 of the total $870 imposed as restitution to the victim’s mother for funeral expenses. In order for us to reject Bass’s challenge, there must be record evidence sufficient to support a finding that the State proved by a preponderance of the evidence that $131 was included in the amount for which Bass was required to make restitution. See § 775.089(7), Fla. Stat. (2000); Hector v. State, 784 So. 2d 1207, 1207 (Fla. 2d DCA 2001). Because the record before us does not show that the State met its burden, we must direct that $131 be stricken from the order and judgment of restitution.

We reverse the sentence in part and remand for the trial court to correct the sentence in accordance with this opinion. The correction of these errors is a ministerial function of the trial court for which Bass need not be present. See Windisch v. State, 709 So. 2d 606, 607 (Fla. 2d DCA 1998). We affirm the judgment and sentence in all other respects. Conviction affirmed; sentence affirmed in part, reversed in part, and remanded.

SALCINES and COVINGTON, JJ., concur.


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Citator

Cited By

  • Molter v. State, 892 So. 2d 1115 (Fla. 2d DCA 2004)
    …tealing from the Bennetts. To affirm an order of restitution, there must be record evidence sufficient to support a finding that the State proved by a preponderance of the evidence the amount of restitution ordered. See § 775.089(7); Bass v. State, 873 So. 2d 569, 570 (Fla. 2d DCA 2004). Apparently, the lists contained forty items. The Bennetts expressly identified only thirty-two items, and of these, a value was assigned for only twenty-two. Because the lists were not offered into evidence and are not a par…
  • Damerius Kashon Hart v. State (Fla. 6th DCA 2026)

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