MATTHEW ALLEN MASTERS, PETITIONER,
v.
STATE OF FLORIDA, RESPONDENT
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The court held that the statute allowing recovery of costs applies only to costs attributable to charges for which the defendant was discharged or the judgment was reversed.
Defendant was convicted of drug offenses, and one count was reversed on appeal. Defendant sought to recover appellate costs from the county based on t…
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PER CURIAM.
Petitioner/defendant filed a motion to tax costs against Volusia County seeking to recover certain appellate costs. Defendant urges the trial court departed from the essential requirements of law by denying this motion.
Defendant was tried and convicted upon a three count information for certain alleged drug offenses. In Masters v. State, 344 So. 2d 616 (Fla. 1st DCA 1977), cert. den., 352 So. 2d 173 (Fla.1977), the judgment and sentence as to he third count of the information (misdemeanor possession of marijuana) was remanded with directions that it be vacated and set aside. The judgments and sentences as to the remaining counts were affirmed; however, the cause was remanded to the trial court to set aside one or the other of the concurrent sentences under the single transaction rule.
Recovery and allowance of costs in criminal cases is solely dependent on statutory provisions. See Wood v. City of Jacksonville, 248 So. 2d 176 (Fla. 1st DCA 1971). Section 939.15, Florida Statutes (1975), provides:
“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 . . ., 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, . . ” (emphasis supplied). We construe Section 939.15 as applicable solely to costs attributable to the charge as to which the defendant was discharged or for which the judgment was reversed. The defendant has failed to sustain his burden of proof that any portion of the costs claimed herein were so attributable. Accordingly, the petition for writ of certiorari is DENIED.
McCORD, C. J., and BOYER and MELVIN, JJ., concur.
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Citator
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Torey Bradshaw and Alford R. Martin v. State, 638 So. 2d 1024 (Fla. 1st DCA 1994)…ce of such costs rest entirely on statutory provisions and no right to or liability for costs exists in the absence of statutory authorization. Wood, 248 So. 2d at 177. See also Scott v. State, 629 So. 2d 1070 (Fla. 1st DCA 1994); Masters v. State, 358 So. 2d 1143 (Fla. 1st DCA 1978); Sutton v. State, 635 So. 2d 1032 (Fla. 2d DCA 1994). Although statutorily mandated costs may be imposed without notice to a defendant, State v. Beasley, 580 So. 2d 139 (Fla.1991), the record should contain a citation to the sta…
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Williams v. State, 596 So. 2d 758 (Fla. 2d DCA 1992)…ted to the extra fine and challenged it on appeal. It is well established that a court lacks the power to impose costs in a criminal case unless specifically authorized by statute. Lindsey v. Dykes, 129 Fla. 65,175 So. 792 (1937); Masters v. State, 358 So. 2d 1143 (Fla. 1st DCA 1978); Wood v. City of Jacksonville, 248 So. 2d 176 (Fla. 1st DCA 1971); City of Miami v. Gilbert, 102 So. 2d 818 (Fla. 3d DCA 1958). The circuit court rejected Williams’s argument that the county court lacked such authority. We disagr…
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Mallory Wright v. State, 654 So. 2d 252 (Fla. 1st DCA 1995)…4th DCA 1994). Second, no statutory authority was provided for the imposition of the $100 cost for a crime lab assessment fee. The law is clear that recovery and allowance of costs in criminal cases must be authorized by statute. Masters v. State, 358 So. 2d 1143 (Fla. 1st DCA 1978). Because the order does not point to any specific statutory authority allowing for recovery, the order is reversed and remanded for reference to the applicable statute or for deletion of the unsupported cost. See Thomas v. State,…
Authorities Cited
- Wood v. City OF Jacksonville, 248 So. 2d 176 (Fla. 1st DCA 1971)
- Masters v. State, 344 So. 2d 616 (Fla. 1st DCA 1977)