KARL H. COX, PETITIONER,
v.
STATE OF FLORIDA, RESPONDENT
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.
Karl Cox was convicted of three traffic violations and declared insolvent. The trial court imposed court costs despite his insolvency, which were affirmed on appeal. The Florida Supreme Court held that § 939.15 prohibits assessing court costs against indigent defendants, reversing the appellate decision.
Court costs cannot be assessed against a defendant adjudicated insolvent. Section 939.15 provides that when a defendant is adjudged insolvent, the costs allowed by law shall be paid by the county in which the crime was committed, not by the defendant.
[1] A county must pay court costs when a defendant in a criminal case is adjudicated insolvent.
[2] It is error to assess court costs against a defendant who has been adjudicated insolvent.
Previewing 2 of 3 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“When the defendant in any criminal case pending in any circuit or county court, a district court of appeal or the supreme court of this state has been adjudged insolvent by the circuit judge or the judge of the county court, upon affidavit and proof as required by § 924.17 in cases of appeal, or when the defendant is discharged or the judgment reversed, the costs allowed by law shall be paid by the county in which the crime was committed”
Statutory language of § 939.15 establishing that counties must pay costs for insolvent defendants
Previewing 1 of 3 key quotes on this case — the court’s exact language, pinpointed for members.
Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligenceCox was charged with violations of three traffic statutes (§§ 316.089, 316.059, and 316.028). He was declared insolvent and the public defender was ap…
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.
Explore caselaw by topic → Browse Court Costs cases and more on FLexlaw
PER CURIAM.
We have jurisdiction of this cause through Art. V, § 3(b)(3), Fla.Const. Petitioner was charged with violations of §§ 316.089, 316.059 and 316.028, Florida Statutes. He was declared insolvent; the public defender was appointed. The traffic court adjudicated him guilty of all three charges and imposed court costs. On appeal to the Circuit Court, Eleventh Judicial Circuit, in and for Dade County, his convictions for two of the offenses, as well as the costs pursuant to those convictions, were affirmed. His petition for certiorari was denied by the District Court of Appeal, Third District.
§ 939.15, Florida Statutes, states:
“Costs paid by county in cases of insolvency. When the defendant in any criminal case pending in any circuit or county court, a district court of appeal or the supreme court of this state has been ad judged insolvent by the circuit judge or the judge of the county court, upon affidavit and proof as required by § 924.17 in cases of appeal, or when the defendant is discharged or the judgment reversed, the costs allowed by law shall be paid by the county in which the crime was committed, upon presentation to the county commissioners of a certified copy of the judgment of the court against such county for such costs.”
This section was interpreted in Mack v. State, 305 So. 2d 264 (Fla.App.3rd, 4974), to make it error to assess court costs against a defendant who had been adjudicated insolvent. We agree with the holding in Mack. It was therefore error for the Circuit Court to affirm the imposition of court costs and the District Court of Appeal should have reversed.
The cause is remanded to the District Court of Appeal, Third District, for proceedings consistent with this opinion.
It is so ordered.
OVERTON, C. J., and BOYD, ENGLAND, SUNDBERG and HATCHETT, JJ., concur.
Cases With Similar Vibessemantic neighbors from the corpus
Citator
Cited By (65 total)
-
Jenkins v. State, 444 So. 2d 947 (Fla. 1984)…costs in this instance. We agree, however, that a trial judge may, after compliance with due process requirements, tax these costs against an indigent defendant. It is necessary that we reconcile this case with our prior decisions in Cox v. State, 334 So. 2d 568 (Fla.1976), and State v. Byrd, 378 So. 2d 1231 (Fla.1979). In Cox we held that costs, under the circumstances presented in that ease, could not be assessed as part of a sentence of imprisonment against an indigent defendant, noting that section 939.…
-
Brown v. State, 427 So. 2d 271 (Fla. 2d DCA 1983)…is that since he was previously adjudged insolvent the court erred in assessing costs. We agree. It was error for the court to impose the $67 court costs against Brown since he had been adjudged insolvent.2 § 939.15, Fla.Stat. (1981); Cox v. State, 334 So. 2d 568 (Fla.1976); Alexander v. State, 425 So. 2d 1197 (Fla. 2d DCA 1983). In Cox the supreme court spoke to costs generally and referred to section 939.15, which requires the county in which the crime was committed to pay court costs for an insolvent defe…
-
State v. Arsoreda Byrd, 378 So. 2d 1231 (Fla. 1979)…y $116 in court costs. On appeal respondent challenged only the requirement that she pay court costs, on the ground that she had been adjudicated insolvent at her arraignment. The Fourth District Court of Appeal, citing our decision in Cox v. State, 334 So. 2d 568 (Fla.1976), agreed with respondent and reversed that portion of the probation order requiring her to pay $116 in court costs. We disagree and quash. We agree with the holding of the First District Court of Appeal in Arnold v. State and find that it…1 / 2
Previewing 3 of 65 citing cases — full citator treatment, depth of discussion, and citing context are member features.
Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligenceAuthorities Cited
- Jonah Mack v. State, 305 So. 2d 264 (Fla. 3d DCA 1974)