JAMES E. GUSTAFSON, APPELLANT,
v.
STATE OF FLORIDA, APPELLEE

Fla. 4th DCA | 1971-04-23
No. 70-509
OWEN and MAGER, TJ., concur.
251 So. 2d 689 Florida District Court of Appeal, Fourth District (1971) Positive Treatment
Cited by 9 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

A defendant convicted of marijuana possession and placed on probation sought refund of his $750 cash appearance bond. The court held that without specific statutory authorization, a cash appearance bond cannot be applied to satisfy court fines and costs, and the defendant's signed authorization for such deduction was void.


Holding

A cash appearance bond cannot be applied to payment of fines or costs without specific statutory authorization. The provision on the bail form authorizing such deduction is void. Upon fulfilling the conditions of the bond by appearing in court and submitting to its jurisdiction, a defendant is entitled to a return of the deposited money.


Headnotes

[1] A cash appearance bond is intended to secure the attendance of the accused to answer the charge against him.

[2] Upon complying with the conditions of a bail bond, a defendant is entitled to a return of the money deposited.

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Key Quotes

“The purpose of bail is to secure the attendance of the accused to answer the charge against him.”

Establishes the fundamental purpose of bail as security for attendance, not as collateral for court costs.

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Facts & Procedural History

James E. Gustafson deposited $750 cash bail with the Brevard County Sheriff on January 13, 1969, for a marijuana possession charge. The bail form (She…

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Opinion of the Court
CROSS, Chief Judge.

CROSS, Chief Judge.

Appellant-defendant, James E. Gustaf-son, appeals an order denying refund of a cash appearance bond. We reverse.

Defendant was charged with possession of marijuana. He deposited $750 cash bail with the Brevard County Sheriff on January 13, 1969, executing a form entitled CASH APPEARANCE BOND (Sheriff’s Form 57-10 Rev.). At the bottom of this form appears the following provision, which was signed by defendant:

“I, the depositor, hereby authorize the deduction of court fines and costs, if any, from the Cash Bond.
/s/ Tames E. Gustafson
Depositor’s Signature”

Trial was held by the court without a jury, and on October 28, 1969, defendant was found guilty by the court and placed on probation.1

On April 23, 1970, appellant filed a motion for the refund of cash bail, which was denied by the court’s order dated May 18, 1970. This appeal followed.

The thrust of this appeal is whether defendant’s bail money may validly be withheld to satisfy fines and costs imposed by the court, where defendant has duly appeared at the time and place specified and sub*690mitted himself to the jurisdiction of the court.

While no Florida cases have been found on point, such deductions were not allowed at common law, and application of a cash appearance bond to the payment of fines or costs imposed by the court may be had only where specifically authorized by statute. E. g., United States v. Davis, 2d Cir. 1943, 135 F.2d 1013; Heine v. Unted States, 6th Cir. 1943, 135 F.2d 914; Turner v. Breslin, Ky.App.1959, 327 S.W.2d 953; Rodman v. Superior Court of Nevada County, 1939, 13 Cal.2d 262, 268, 89 P.2d 109; Crowell v. Circuit Court of Brookings County, 1926, 50 S.D. 276, 209 N.W. 539; State v. Williams, 1923, 127 Wash. 658, 221 P. 289; Isbell v. Bay Circuit Judge, 1921, 215 Mich. 364, 183 N.W. 721; Campbell v. Board of Commissioners of Reno County, 1916, 97 Kan. 68, 154 P. 257; see Berume v. Hughes, Tex.Civ.App.1925, 275 S.W. 268.

Decisions in other jurisdictions sustaining application of bail money to satisfy fines and costs particularly note the express statutory provisions for their authority to so hold. E. g., Kasper v. State, 1960, 206 Tenn. 445, 333 S.W.2d 934; Mundell v. Wells, 1919, 181 Cal. 398, 184 P. 666; State v. Owens, 1900, 112 Iowa 403, 84 N.W. 529; People v. Brannon, N.Y.City Crim.Ct.1963, 41 Misc.2d 307, 245 N.Y.S.2d 101.

The purpose of bail is to secure the attendance of the accused to answer the charge against him. Younghans v. State, Fla.1956, 90 So.2d 308. If a person is admitted to bail for his appearance on a charge that the court is empowered to try, the condition of the undertaking is that he will appear to answer the charge, and will submit himself to the orders and processes of the court trying the same, and will not depart without leave. Rule 1.130, F.R.Cr. P., 33 F.S.A. Upon complying with these conditions of the bond, a defendant is entitled to a return of the money deposited. Young v. Stoutamire, 1938, 131 Fla. 535, 179 So. 797.

There is no statutory authorization in Florida for deducting costs from cash bail deposited by a defendant.2 The provision on the Cash Appearance Bond form (Sheriff’s Form 57-10 Rev.) which provides for such a deduction is void, as is defendant’s authorization pursuant thereto. It appears that the conditions of the bond as discussed above have been fulfilled, so the bond should have been refunded to defendant on request.

Accordingly, the order is reversed and the cause remanded with directions for entry of an order consistent with the views herein expressed.

Reversed and remanded, with directions.

OWEN and MAGER, TJ., concur.


Cases With Similar Vibessemantic neighbors from the corpus


Citator

Cited By

  • State v. Gustafson, 254 So. 2d 789 (Fla. 1971)
    …Certiorari denied. 251 So. 2d 689. ROBERTS, C. J., and ERVIN, CARLTON, ADKINS, BOYD, McCAIN and DEKLE, JJ., concur.…
  • Scott Ellis as Brevard Cnty. Clerk of Court v. Hunter, 3 So. 3d 373 (Fla. 5th DCA 2009)
    …if the amount of the bond is not calculated based on the amount of fees, costs, and penalties, and (b) the purpose of granting bail is to secure the ap [*382] pearance of the defendant and to protect the public. For example, in Gustafson v. State, 251 So. 2d 689 (Fla. 4th DCA 1971), the Fourth District Court of Appeal held that where a defendant complies with the terms of his bond by appearing before the court, return of the defendant’s cash bail may not be withheld to satisfy fines and costs imposed by the…
  • Chippas v. Midland Ins. Co., 456 So. 2d 495 (Fla. 3d DCA 1984)
    …efendant has complied with that condition — the appearance bond has served its purpose and must, as it actually was in this case, be discharged. Accredited Surety & Casualty Co., Inc. v. State, 318 So. 2d 554 (Fla. 1st DCA 1975); Gustafson v. State, 251 So. 2d 689 (Fla. 4th DCA 1971), cert. denied, 254 So. 2d 789 (Fla.1981); see State v. Rice, 137 N.J.Super. 593, 350 A. 2d 95 (Essex County Ct. 1975), aff’d, 148 N.J.Super. 145, 372 A. 2d 349 (1977). A criminal appeal or supersedeas bond is quite a different an…

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