RODNEY S. HARMON, APPELLANT,
v.
STATE OF FLORIDA, APPELLEE
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.
The court held that the trial court erred in assessing public defender fees without factual findings or informing the defendant of their right to contest.
Appellant was convicted of a felony and assessed $500 in public defender fees. The trial court made no factual findings to support the amount and did …
The full statement of facts, procedural history, and disposition for this case are member content.
Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligence© FLexlaw, Inc. — AI-generated enrichments are proprietary. All rights reserved.
We affirm Appellant’s convictions and sentences except as to the assessment of the public defender fee. We reverse the trial court’s assessment of $500 for public defender fees. The trial court was obligated to assess Appellant at least $100 in fees and costs because he was convicted of a felony. § 938.29(l)(a), Fla. Stat. (2013). However, a trial court may only assess more than $100 in fees after it makes factual findings of the “higher fees or costs incurred.” Id. Here, the trial court assessed $500 in fees and costs against Appellant without considering any evidence.1 *940The trial court also failed to inform Appellant of his right to contest the assessment.
We strike the assessment of public defender fees without prejudice and remand for an evidentiary hearing. Hayes v. State, 69 So.3d 1035, 1037 (Fla. 5th DCA 2011); Houle v. State, 33 So.3d 822, 823 (Fla. 4th DCA 2010). On remand, the trial court must advise Appellant of his right to contest any lien imposed for public defender fees.
AFFIRMED in part; REVERSED in part; and REMANDED.
TORPY, C.J., ORFINGER and LAWSON, JJ., concur.
Cases With Similar Vibessemantic neighbors from the corpus
Citator
Cited By
-
Chivese v. State, 295 So. 3d 324 (Fla. 5th DCA 2020)
-
Mojica v. State, 192 So. 3d 1271 (Fla. 2d DCA 2016)…the State argues that the $200 assessed against Mr. Mojica was proper under section 938.29. However, as set forth in that statute, any indigent legal assistant assessment over the mandatory minimum fee of $100 is discretionary. See Harmon v. State, 160 So. 3d 939, 939-40 (Fla. 5th DCA 2015). A trial court must, therefore, notify a defendant of his or her right to contest the imposition of an assessment above $100. Id. Here, the trial court improperly imposed this assessment in an amount over $100 without fir…
-
Quamain Tyjuan Williams v. State, 207 So. 3d 1029 (Fla. 1st DCA 2017)…l court hold an evidentiary hearing if it decides to reimpose a lien in excess of the minimum statutory amount. See Mosley v. State, 194 So. 3d 473, 474 (Fla. 1st DCA 2016); Odom v. State, 187 So. 3d 324, 325-26 (Fla. 1st DCA 2016); Harmon v. State, 160 So. 3d 939, 940 (Fla. 5th DCA 2015); Houle v. State, 33 So. 3d 822, 823 (Fla. 4th DCA 2010). [*1030] AFFIRMED in part; REVERSED in part; and REMANDED with directions. ROBERTS, C.J., JAY and WINSOR, JJ., CONCUR.…
Authorities Cited
- Lesane v. State, 33 So. 3d 822 (Fla. 4th DCA 2010)
- Houle v. State, 33 So. 3d 822 (Fla. 4th DCA 2010)
- Jotonnia Hayes v. State, 69 So. 3d 1035 (Fla. 5th DCA 2011)