Opinion ID: 888583
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: The $85 Fine/Surcharge is Illegal

Text: ¶ 30 It is well-established that a district court's authority to impose sentences in criminal cases is defined and constrained by statute. State v. Blackwell, 2001 MT 198, ¶ 6, 306 Mont. 267, ¶ 6, 32 P.3d 771, ¶ 6 (citation and internal quotation marks omitted). Moreover, [w]e have long held that a district court has no power to impose a sentence in the absence of specific statutory authority. Hatfield, 256 Mont. at 346, 846 P.2d at 1029 (citing State v. Stone, 40 Mont. 88, 105 P. 89 (1909), and State v. Openshaw, 172 Mont. 511, 565 P.2d 319 (1977)). Whether one characterizes the $85 in this case as a fine or a surcharge fee payable to the community service program, the imposition is illegal. ¶ 31 We recently disapproved this sort of creative sentencing in State v. Krum, 2007 MT 229, 339 Mont. 154, 168 P.3d 658. Krum was convicted of two counts of felony sexual assault, and the district court sentenced him to the Department of Corrections for 20 years, with all but 2 years suspended. The sentence was subject to a number of terms and conditions, including the successful completion of an approved sex-offender treatment program and payment of restitution to the victim's family. Krum, ¶¶ 5, 7. In addition, the court imposed the following condition: The defendant has sufficient funds to pay a $5,000.00 assessment to the Park County Court Automation Fund, $2,500.00 to the Tri-County Network for Domestic Violence, and $2,500.00 to Park County Big Brothers and Sisters, all to give back to society and those who assist and help others who are victims of these type of offenses. Krum, ¶ 8. ¶ 32 Stating that a court has no power to impose a sentence in the absence of specific statutory authority and that a sentence not based on statutory authority is an illegal sentence, Krum, ¶ 11, we held that the assessments imposed by the district court could not be considered as fines authorized by § 45-5-502, MCA (the sexual-assault statute), Krum, ¶ 15. Moreover, we considered whether § 46-18-202(1)(f), MCA, authorized the district court's imposition of the assessments. This section provides that the sentencing judge may impose any other limitation reasonably related to the objectives of rehabilitation and the protection of the victim and society. We concluded that § 46-18-202(1)(f), MCA, did not provide the necessary statutory authority for imposing the assessments because the assessments were not limitations on Krum's conduct but, rather, were affirmative duties to make donations to community entities. We also determined that the assessments could not be characterized as restitution because the money was being paid to community entities rather than to the victim. Krum, ¶ 20. ¶ 33 Similarly, here, the District Court's imposition of the $85 as a fine or surcharge fee payable to the community service program also fails. As in Krum, imposition of an $85 fine/surcharge payable to the community service program is not authorized by statute and is, therefore, illegal. Krum, ¶ 26. Having reached that decision, we next turn to the appropriate remedy.