STATE OF FLORIDA, APPELLANT,
v.
PHILLIP YOUNG, APPELLEE
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The Florida Supreme Court upheld the constitutionality of a statutory provision assessing a $1 court cost against persons convicted of penal or criminal violations. The Court rejected the defendant's argument that the assessment violated separation of powers and the right to access courts, finding it a legitimate court cost rather than an unconstitutional tax.
Section 14 is constitutional and does not violate the separation of powers doctrine or the right to access courts. The $1 assessment is a legitimate court cost, not an unconstitutional tax, because it is levied only after conviction in criminal cases and bears a direct relationship to costs incurred by the judicial system in prosecuting those offenses.
[1] A statute imposing a court cost against a convicted defendant is not unconstitutional as a tax if it is levied after conviction and bears a reasonable relationship to the…
[2] A court cost assessed against a convicted defendant is not an unconstitutional impediment to free access to the courts.
Previewing 2 of 5 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“It is not unreasonable that one who stands convicted of such an offense should be made to share in the improvement of the agencies that society has had to employ in defense against the very acts for which he has been convicted.”
Core rationale for upholding the assessment—explains why the $1 cost is reasonable and connected to the defendant's culpability.
Previewing 1 of 3 key quotes on this case — the court’s exact language, pinpointed for members.
Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligencePhillip Young was convicted of a traffic offense in the Manatee County Court of Record and sentenced to a $30 fine and costs or ten days in jail. He w…
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The single issue presented in this direct appeal brought by the State is the constitutionality of Section 14, Chapter 69-111, Fla.Stat. Appellee, defendant below, was convicted of a traffic offense by the Court of Record, Manatee County, and upon adjudication of guilt, a fine of $30.00, and costs, or ten days in the county jail, was imposed upon him. He was also assessed one dollar in accordance with Section 14, supra.
After consideration of appellee’s objection to this latter assessment on constitutional grounds, the trial judge entered an order pronouncing Section 14 null and void principally because allegedly violative of the separation of powers doctrine found in Article II, Section 3, Fla.Const. (1968), F. S.A. The initial judgment was then revised so as to delete reference to the levy of the Section 14 assessment. We reverse the order from which this appeal is taken.
Section 14, Chapter 69-111, Fla.Stat. reads as follows:
“Every court created by the constitution of Florida or by legislative act shall assess one dollar ($1.00) as a court cost against every person convicted for violation of a state penal or criminal statute or convicted for violation of a municipal or county ordinance. In addition one dollar ($1.00) from every bond estrea-ture or forfeited bail bond related to such penal statutes or penal ordinances shall be forwarded to the state treasurer *590as hereinafter described; with the exception, that no such assessment shall be made against any person convicted for violation of any state statute, municipal ordinance or county ordinance relating to the parking of vehicles. All such costs collected by the aforesaid courts shall be deposited in the state treasury to the credit of the general revenue fund, as may be prescribed by rules promulgated by the governing board of the Florida bureau of law enforcement upon recommendation of the commissioner of such bureau.”
Appellee has marshalled his arguments supporting the Court of Record order carefully. He has cited cases wherein enactments placing assessments on the docketing of suits have been struck down as impediments on the right to free access to the courts. Flood v. State, ex rel. Homeland Co., 95 Fla. 1003, 117 So. 385 (1928); Malin v. La Moure County, 27 N.D. 140, 145 N.W. 582 (1916). He has cited cases where relatively similar enactments have been invalidated because the courts have construed the assessments to be taxes; for example, Ex parte Coffelt, 93 Okl.Cr. 343, 228 P.2d 199 (1951). And citation has been made to cases wherein enactments declaring an assessment to be a court cost have been nullified because in reality no relationship existed between the assessments and the costs actually incurred through litigation; for example, Ex parte Carson, 143 Tex.Cr.R. 498, 159 S.W.2d 126 (1942).
Appellant, on the other hand, has structured its arguments primarily upon public policy considerations, although some citation has been made to cases in which similar enactments have been upheld; for example, People v. Norman, 252 Cal.App.2d 381, 60 Cal.Rptr. 609 (1967).
Our review of the cases convinces us that judicial treatment of assessments connected with litigation has been variant on the facts and the nature of the assessment. In Flood v. State, ex rel. Homeland Co., supra, for example, we were concerned that a docket fee, which had no relation to the costs leading to litigation or arising from it, was in reality a direct tax levied upon whoever would seek entrance to the courts. Here, however, a different situation obtains. The assessment contemplated by Section 14 is levied only after a conviction has been secured in cases not civil in nature. It is not unreasonable that one who stands convicted of such an offense should be made to share in the improvement of the agencies that society has had to employ in defense against the very acts for which he has been convicted. We perceive here a direct relationship absent in Flood and similar cases cited by appellee.
The assessment being an acceptable court cost and not a tax, and there being no violation of the separation of powers doctrine, the order appealed from must be, and hereby is, reversed, and this cause is remanded for further treatment consistent with this opinion.
It is so ordered.
ERVIN, C. J., and ROBERTS, ADKINS and BOYD, JJ., concur.
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State v. Champe, 373 So. 2d 874 (Fla. 1978)…that both are illegal taxes. They assert that fines must be imposed strictly as punishment for the commission of crimes, and that costs must be expenses incident to case prosecution. The latter contention was specifically rejected in State v. Young, 238 So. 2d 589 (Fla.1970). As to the former, the five percent surcharge in Section 960.25 may quite properly be considered as a form of punishment for the offense. Punishment in the form of restitution is not a novel concept,20 and this form of punitive measure is…
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Butler v. State, 492 So. 2d 757 (Fla. 4th DCA 1986)…o section 27.3455(1), is proper on this record. Additionally, the statute itself, which is rationally related to the legislative purpose of assisting the agencies employed by the state to combat crime, is not constitutionally infirm. State v. Young, 238 So. 2d 589 (Fla.1970). We reverse that part of the final judgment which assesses court costs and public defender’s fees to Butler. These costs were erroneously imposed without affording Butler a prior hearing and opportunity to object. Jenkins v. State, 444 S…
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Davis v. State, 495 So. 2d 928 (Fla. 4th DCA 1986)…ystem. This is a reasonable classification. The imposition of cost assessments against persons violating penal laws is not a direct tax and is appropriately levied upon those who should be made to share the burdens of these agencies. State v. Young, 238 So. 2d 589 (Fla.1970). Appellant further asserts that he will be deprived of gain time by the court’s order. However, he has failed to provide us with support for this contention in the record. In any event, gain time is only lost, under the terms of the stat…
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- Flood v. State, 95 Fla. 1003 (Fla. 1928)