Opinion ID: 2541631
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: The Court Costs StatuteKRS 23A.205

Text: The third statute applicable to. resolution of the issue before the Court is the aforementioned court costs statute, KRS 23A.205. Adopted in 1976 and effective as of January 2, 1978, the original KRS 23A.205 provided for court costs of $50.00 and in subsection (2) provided simply that costs may be probated or suspended at the discretion of the court. Court costs were increased in 1984 and 1998 with courts retaining the authority to probate or suspend payment. [2] There was still no guidance within KRS 23A.205, however, on factors relevant for consideration in the exercise of that discretion. In 2002, the General Assembly adopted KRS 23A.205 in its present version, incorporating the poor person definition in the in forma pauperis statute and requiring consideration of not only the defendant's present circumstances but also his ability to pay in the foreseeable future. The statute provides: (1) Court costs for a criminal case in the Circuit Court shall be one hundred dollars ($100). (2) The taxation of court costs against a defendant, upon conviction in a case, shall be mandatory and shall not be subject to probation, suspension, proration, deduction, or other form of nonimposition in the terms of a plea bargain or otherwise, unless the court finds that the defendant is a poor person as defined by KRS 453.190(2) and that he or she is unable to pay court costs and will be unable to pay the court costs in the foreseeable future. (3) If the court finds that the defendant does not meet the standard articulated in subsection (2) of this section and that the defendant is nonetheless unable to pay the full amount of the courts costs and fees at the time of sentencing, then the court shall establish a show cause date by which time the court costs, fees, and fines shall be paid and may establish an installment payment plan whereby the defendant pays the full amount of the court costs, fees, and fines to the circuit clerk in installments as established by the court. All court costs and fees under the installment plan shall be paid within one (1) year of the date of sentencing notwithstanding any remaining restitution or other monetary penalty owed by the defendant and arising out of the conviction. Installment payments will be applied first to court costs, then to restitution, then to fees, and then to fines. KRS 23A.205 (emphasis supplied). The court costs statute adopts the following poor person definition in KRS 453.190(2): A poor person means a person who is unable to pay the costs and fees of the proceeding in which he is involved without depriving himself or his dependents of the necessities of life, including food, shelter, or clothing. Thus the poor person standard in KRS 23A.205 is distinguishable from the needy person standard in KRS 31.100 because the latter focuses only on the inability to provide for the payment of an attorney and all other necessary expenses of representation. Also, the KRS 31.211 recoupment provisions provide solely for a present tense determination while KRS 23A.205(2) directs the court to consider both the defendant's ability to pay at present and in the foreseeable future.