TIMOTHY ALAN DINAUER, APPELLANT,
v.
STATE OF FLORIDA, APPELLEE
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Timothy Dinauer appealed the trial court's denial of his motions for assessment of costs following the State's nolle prosequi in two criminal cases. The First District Court of Appeal held that deposition costs of $93.75 were proper taxable costs but rejected travel, lodging, meal, and bail bond expenses as non-taxable costs in criminal cases.
The court held that the deposition costs of $93.75 are proper taxable costs that should have been assessed, but travel expenses, hotel expenses, meals, and bail bond premiums are not proper taxable costs under Florida law.
[1] Costs in criminal cases are not recoverable at common law and their allowance depends entirely on statutory provisions.
[2] A defendant in a criminal case may recover taxable costs when discharged from prosecution.
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“Costs as such in criminal cases were unknown to the common law. As a consequence, recovery and allowance of such costs rest entirely on statutory provisions and no right to or liability for costs exists in the absence of statutory authorization.”
Establishes the foundational principle that criminal costs are entirely statutory in origin and require explicit statutory authorization
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Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligenceDinauer was charged with possession of a controlled substance and walking on a limited access highway. Before trial, he expended $93.75 taking deposit…
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RAWLS, Acting Chief Judge.
By these consolidated appeals, appellant Dinauer challenges the trial court’s orders denying his motions for assessment of costs.
Dinauer was chargéd by information with possession of a controlled substance and walking on a limited access highway. In preparation for the trial court’s Case No. 74-1884-CF (X-27), Dinauer expended the sum of $93.75 in taking the depositions of three police officers. The trial jury was sworn on July 29, 1974, and on the following day, July 30, the State entered a nolle prosequi of this case.
Following the nolle prosequi in Case No. 74-1884-CF (X-27), the State filed an identical information against Dinauer in Case No. 74-3304-CF (X-26). A nolle prosequi was subsequently entered in this case by the State on September 16, 1974.
Apparently after his initial arrest, Dinauer returned to his home in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, for he claims travel expenses from Milwaukee for attendance of the July 29, 1974, trial as a part of his cost bill. In our Case No. X-27, Dinauer itemizes his costs as :
Plane fate from Milwaukee, Wisconsin $170.00
Lodging for three nights 30.00
Meals for three days 10.00
Court reporter's fee for taking depositions of Officers Sweeney, Britt and Zier (per diem — $25.00, original — $68.75) 93.75
Total $303.75
In our Case No. X-26, Dinauer itemizes his costs as:
Bail bond premium to American Bail Bond, Inc. d/b/a American Dixie Bonding Company — Total $150.00
In Wood v. City of Jacksonville,
this Court, in reviewing the question of assessment of costs in criminal cases, held:
“Costs as such in criminal cases were unknown to the common law. As a consequence, recovery and allowance of such costs rest entirely on statutory provisions and no right to or liability for costs exists in the absence of statutory authorization. The foregoing principle has been adopted as the prevailing rule in this state.”
In reviewing the itemized costs submitted by the appellant in Wood, this Court rejected the premium sought for bail bond and approved those sums sought for the transcript of testimony.
In Warren v. Capuano,2 the Supreme Court reviewed a decision of the Fourth District Court of Appeal which initially construed a controlling new provision of the Florida Constitution (1968) pertaining to the subject matter under consideration. There, the Supreme Court held:
“The gist of the District Court’s interpretation is that a controlling new provision of the State Constitution denotes that ‘defendants in criminal cases who are acquitted or discharged be allowed cost, and that the cost should be paid by the county’ and that this provision has been followed by the courts and that the Legislature has duly implemented this constitutional mandate by statutes.”
In affirming the District Court, the Supreme Court stamped with approval the District Court’s opinion3 affirming the trial court’s assessment of enumerated costs. The opinion by the District Court observed that the trial court found Capu-ano entitled to recover:
“ . . . proper taxable costs subject to the provisions of the Florida Statutes § 939.08, F.S.A., . . . Ca-puano then instituted his action in the circuit court for the payment of the costs by the county to recover the amount of $2,124.64, expended for witness fees and mileage, bail bond premiums and filing fees. The circuit judge in his summary judgment ordered the reimbursement of the costs petitioned by the defendant with the exception of a bail bond premium expense of $150 and a hotal expense of $85.82, . . ..” (emphasis supplied)
In analyzing the claims of Dinauer, we conclude that the sum of $93.75 expended for taking the officers’ depositions is a proper taxable cost and that the trial court erred in not assessing same. As to the remainder of Dinauer’s claim for costs, we conclude that defendant-appel lant s travel expenses, hotel expenses, meals, and bail bond expense are not “proper taxable costs”.
Affirmed in part; reversed in part.
MILLS and SMITH, JJ., concur. . Wood v. City of Jacksonville, 248 So. 2d 176 (1 Fla.App.1971).
. Warren v. Capuano, 282 So. 2d 873 (Fla.1973).
.Warren v. Capuano, 269 So. 2d 380 (4 Fla. App. 1972).
Cases With Similar Vibessemantic neighbors from the corpus
Citator
Cited By
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Hayes v. State, 387 So. 2d 539 (Fla. 5th DCA 1980)…utes (1979), allows and requires the county to pay those reasonable and necessary costs expended by the criminally accused when he is acquitted or discharged from the criminal charges. Warren v. Capurano, 282 So. 2d 873 (Fla.1973); Dinauer v. State, 317 So. 2d 792 (Fla.1st DCA 1975); Powell v. State, 314 So. 2d 788 (Fla.2d DCA 1975). The trial court denied the cost refund 1 and reimbursement “under authority of Benitez v. State,” 350 So. 2d 1100 (Fla.3d DCA 1977), cert. denied 359 So. 2d 1211 (Fla.1978). The…
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Dade Cnty. v. The Honorable Paul Baker, 356 So. 2d 65 (Fla. 3d DCA 1978)…Sections 939.06 and 939.07, Florida Statutes (1975). This court has previously dealt with this assertion and has held that the premiums for bail bonds are not taxable. See Holton v. State, 311 So. 2d 711 (Fla. 3d DCA 1975); and see Dinauer v. State, 317 So. 2d 792 (Fla. 1st DCA 1975); and Daniel v. State, 309 So. 2d 248 (Fla. 4th DCA 1975). Upon authority of the cited cases, the order of the respondent judge dated July 20, 1977, ordering the County Comptroller to pay Zebedee W. Wright the sum of $735.00, is…
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Cnty. OF Seminole v. Padilla, 470 So. 2d 28 (Fla. 5th DCA 1985)…tion of the various state attorneys.” The attorney general also noted that, although case law has not addressed the specific question, the courts generally have disallowed travel expenses incurred in attending the trial itself. See Dinauer v. State, 317 So. 2d 792 (Fla.1st DCA 1975). Additionally, in dicta, the Florida Supreme Court in the case of Shuman v. State, 358 So. 2d 1333 (Fla.1978), in discussing whether the costs of appellate transcripts should be borne by a county, stated: ... An examination of se…
Authorities Cited
- Wood v. City OF Jacksonville, 248 So. 2d 176 (Fla. 1st DCA 1971)
- George v. Warren, 269 So. 2d 380 (Fla. 4th DCA 1972)
- George v. Warren, 282 So. 2d 873 (Fla. 1973)