Opinion ID: 1120830
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Victim's Compensation Fund

Text: The $1,500.00 assessment in the provision of paragraph 10 of the judgment and sentence causes our greater concern. W.S. 1-40-119 provides: (a) In addition to any fine or other penalty prescribed by law, a defendant who pleads guilty or nolo contendere to, or is convicted of, the following criminal offenses shall be assessed a surcharge of not less than fifty dollars ($50.00): [Designated offenses] (b) The surcharge enumerated in subsection (a) of this section shall be imposed upon any defendant for whom prosecution, trial or sentence is deferred under W.S. 7-13-301 and 7-13-302 or who participates in any other diversion agreement. (c) Under no circumstances shall a court fail to impose the surcharge required by subsections (a) and (b) of this section. (d) The surcharge shall be paid within ten (10) days of imposition. Failure to comply is punishable as contempt of court. Contempt proceedings or other proceedings to collect the surcharge may be initiated by the prosecuting attorney or by the court on its own motion. (e) Monies paid to the court by a defendant shall be applied to the surcharge before being applied to any fine, penalty, cost or assessment imposed upon the defendant. The proceeds from the surcharge imposed by this section shall be remitted promptly by the clerk of the court to the commission for deposit in the account. In seeking an appropriate and realistic application of the statute, we would recognize its provisions were intended by the legislature to be mandatory in both assessment and payment. We will confine our analysis for this decision to the judgment and sentence presented in this case and await briefing and oral argument in future cases to address any broader issue of the possible assessment of statutorily unlimited amounts to be deposited as a state funding mechanism. Here, we only address the statutorily limited time for payment provided in W.S. 1-40-119(d) of ten days. The vice of that portion of the judgment and sentence in this case is the provision for the payment of $1,450 later than ten days of imposition according to a plan to be prepared by the Department of Probation and Parole. Subsection (d) of the statute contains no provision vesting discretion in the sentencing court with respect to extending the time for payment of this surcharge. Since the district court, in this instance, must have determined that Seaton could pay no more than $50 within the ten day period, we would find the balance of $1,450 to be thereafter paid according to an executive agency plan to constitute an unlawful imposition and statutorily unauthorized surplusage. Wyo. Const. art. 1, § 14. Courts can only impose those sentences authorized by the legislature. Williams v. State, 692 P.2d 233 (Wyo. 1984); Sorenson v. State, 604 P.2d 1031 (Wyo. 1979).