IN THE INTEREST OF L.B., A CHILD

Fla. 4th DCA | 1995-03-15
No. 94-0579
STONE and KLEIN, JJ., concur.
651 So. 2d 1274 Florida District Court of Appeal, Fourth District (1995) Positive Treatment
Cited by 4 cases

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Synopsis

The Florida Fourth District Court of Appeal reversed a juvenile delinquency judgment imposing a special public defender fee and prospective appeal costs, finding both violated statutory notice and hearing requirements and exceeded the trial court's authority.


Holding

The trial court erred in imposing the special public defender fee without affording L.B. adequate notice and opportunity to be heard as required by statute, and it lacked authority to prospectively impose appeal costs, which can only be taxed by the appellate court after issuance of mandate.


Headnotes

[1] A trial court errs in imposing a special public defender fee without affording the defendant adequate notice and opportunity to be heard.

[2] A defendant's right to adequate notice and an opportunity to be heard regarding the imposition of public defender fees is a fundamental due process right that is not subj…

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Key Quotes

“The court having jurisdiction of the defendant-recipient may, at any such stage of the proceedings as the court may deem appropriate, determine the value of the services of the public defender, special assistant public defender, or appointed private legal counsel and costs, at which time the defendant-recipient or parent, after adequate notice thereof, shall have opportunity to be heard and offer objection to the determination”

Establishes the statutory requirement for notice and hearing before imposing public defender fees

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Facts & Procedural History

L.B. pleaded no contest to burglary of a dwelling and grand theft. The trial court withheld adjudication and placed L.B. on community control with JAS…

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Opinion of the Court
POLEN, Judge.

POLEN, Judge.

L.B. pled no contest to the delinquency petition charging him with burglary of a dwelling and grand theft. The court withheld adjudication and placed L.B. on community control with the Judicial Alternative Services Program (JASP). The court also entered a written order imposing a special public defender fee in the amount of $290.00, and filing fees and the costs of an appeal in the event an appeal is taken and the judgment is affirmed. We find error with regard to both the special public defender fee and the prospective costs of an unsuccessful appeal.

The trial court erred in imposing the special public defender fee because L.B. was not afforded adequate notice and opportunity to be heard as to the imposition of these fees. Section 27.56, Florida Statutes (1993), provides in pertinent part:

(7) The court having jurisdiction of the defendant-recipient may, at any such stage of the proceedings as the court may deem appropriate, determine the value of the services of the public defender, special as sistant public defender, or appointed private legal counsel and costs, at which time the defendant-recipient or parent, after adequate notice thereof, shall have opportunity to be heard and offer objection to the determination, and to be represented by counsel, with due opportunity to exercise and be accorded the procedures and rights provided in the laws and court rules pertaining to civil cases at law.

(Emphasis added.) See also Reed v. State, 603 So. 2d 69, 71 (Fla. 4th DCA 1992) (there was error in imposing public defender fee without required notice and hearing). L.B. was clearly not afforded the requisite notice and opportunity to be heard, as the trial court simply awarded the fee at the sentencing hearing after asking the special public defender if there was a fee. We further reject the state’s argument that L.B. waived his right to appellate review of the imposition of the special public defender fee. See McMahon v. State, 561 So. 2d 1284 (Fla. 5th DCA 1990) (due process requirement that criminal defendant receive adequate notice and opportunity to be heard was fundamental and was not subject to requirement of contemporaneous objection and implied waiver); Bull v. State, 548 So. 2d 1103 (Fla.1989) (defendant’s failure to object or request hearing after adequate notice of the right to a hearing on the amount of lien for fees for appointed attorney constituted waiver) (emphasis added).

It was also error for the trial court to enter an order stating that if L.B. took an appeal that was affirmed, the court would enter a judgment for the costs of the appeal and the filing fee. See Anderson v. State, 632 So. 2d 132 (Fla. 4th DCA 1994) (without permission from the appellate court, the trial court cannot award appellate costs; these costs may be taxed in favor of the prevailing party, pursuant to Florida Rule of Appellate Procedure 9.400(a), which “explicitly provides for taxation of costs by the lower tribunal on motions heard within 30 days after issuance of the mandate but not before”). Not only was it improper for the trial court to award the costs of an appeal prospectively, but such an award would have a chilling effect on a defendant’s right to appeal, which this court will not condone.

L.B. also argues that there was no substantial competent evidence to support the $10,000.00 restitution award. However, we find no error in that regard, and attribute reversal only to the error in imposing the special public defender fee and the prospective costs of an unsuccessful appeal.

STONE and KLEIN, JJ., concur.


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Citator

Cited By

  • Watson v. State, 690 So. 2d 730 (Fla. 4th DCA 1997)
    …ten judgment must be corrected to conform with the oral pronouncement). Finally, we reverse the prospective award of appellate costs as it was improper for the trial court to make such an anticipatory and unauthorized award. In the Interest of L.B., 651 So. 2d 1274, 1275 (Fla. 4th DCA 1995); Anderson v. State, 632 So. 2d 132, 133 (Fla. 4th DCA 1994). REVERSED AND REMANDED. GUNTHER, C.J., and FARMER and KLEIN, JJ., concur.…
  • Reese v. State, 678 So. 2d 893 (Fla. 4th DCA 1996)
    …ndant to pay prospective appellate costs. This court has repeatedly held that a trial court errs when it assesses appellate costs against a defendant prospectively. See, e.g., Smith v. State, 675 So. 2d 1050 (Fla. 4th DCA 1996); In Interest of L.B., 651 So. 2d 1274 (Fla. 4th DCA 1995); Anderson v. State, 632 So. 2d 132 (Fla. 4th DCA 1994). Accordingly, we reverse the assessment of prospective appellate costs and remand on the issue of attorney’s fees to afford defendant the opportunity to contest the amount i…

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