### D ISTRICT 

### C OURT 

### O F 

### A PPEAL 

### O F 

### T HE 

### S TATE 

### O F 

### F LORIDA

F OURTH D ISTRICT

FRITZ GERALD PIERRE
, Appellant,

v.

STATE OF FLORIDA
, Appellee

.

No. 4D 18

- 1198

[ February 13, 2019 ]

Appeal from the Circuit Court for the Seventeenth Judicial Circuit, Broward County ; Martin S. Fein , Judge; L.T. Case No. 16005307CF10A

.

Carey Haughwout, Public Defender, and Tatjana Ostapoff, Assistant Public Defender, West Palm Beach, for appellant.

Ashley B. Moody , Attorney General, Tallahassee, and Melynda Melear,

Senior Assistant At torney General, West Palm Beach, for appellee.

K LINGENSMITH

, J

.

Appellant Fritz Gerald Pierre appeals his conviction and sentence for refusal to submit to testing under section 316.1932(1)(a)(1)(a), Florida Statutes (2016) , driving with a suspended licen se , and reckless driving. He claims the trial court erred by den ying his motion to suppress and imposing an excessive public defender lien

. We affirm as to the first issue without comment; however, we find merit in a ppellant ’s second claim, and hereby re verse

.

At the plea hearing, a ppellant entered a no

- contest plea . Consequently,

the trial court adjudicated him guilty

, sentenced him to time served , and

announced a “mandatory” $200 public defender lien

. The court asked a series of questions to ensure that appellant understood the terms of his

sentence, but failed to inform him of his right to a hearing to contest the

lien under s ection 938.29(1)(a), Florida Statutes (2018)

.

This section, regarding liens for the payment of attorney’s fees or co sts, provides that:2 A defendant who is convicted of a criminal act . . . and who has received assistance of the public defender’s office . . . shall be liable for payment of . . . attorney’s fees and costs. Attorney’s fees and costs shall be set in al l cases at . . . no less than $100 per case when a felony offense is charged . . . . The court may set a higher amount upon a showing of sufficient proof of higher fees or costs incurred

.

§ 938.29(1)(a) (alterations and emphasis added); accord Houle v. State , 33 So. 3d 822, 823 (Fla. 4th DCA 2010)

. At sentencing, a trial court must

announce the amount of the lien , as well as “the accused ’ s right to a hearing to contest the amount of the lien . . . . ” Fla. R. Crim. P. 3.720(d)(1).

Here, section 938.29( 1)(a) required the trial court to assess appellant

at least $100 in attorney’s fees and costs because he was charged with

felon y DUI

. Although the court described this fee as “mandatory” during the plea colloquy, the trial court exercised discretion by as sessing a $ 2 00 public defender lien against appellant yet failed to consider any evidence establishing a reasonable hourly rate or the amount of time spent by the public defender on the case to support an amount exceeding the statutory

minimum

. See Alexis v. State , 211 So. 3d 81, 83 (Fla. 4th DCA 2017). Furthermore, t he trial court failed to inform appellant of h is statutory right

to contest the lien

. See Fla. R. Crim. P. 3.720(d)(1) ; Alexis , 211 So. 3d at

83 ; accord Hayes v. State , 25 So. 3d 683, 684

- 85 (Fla. 2d DCA 2010).

Therefore, we reverse the imposition of the public defender lien and remand to the trial court to either reduce the amount to the statutorily required $100 or hold a hearing with proper notice to obtain evidence in support of a lien i n an amount greater than the statutory minimum.

Reversed and remanded with instructions

.

C ONNER and K UNTZ

, J J., concur.

* * *

Not final until disposition of timely filed motion for rehearing.