Court Opinion

ID: 9911610
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-12-20 16:03:04.53806+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T12:53:08.878443
License: Public Domain

FIRST DISTRICT COURT OF APPEAL
                STATE OF FLORIDA
                 _____________________________

                        No. 1D2022-2823
                 _____________________________

RASHA J. CUMMINGS,

    Appellant,

    v.

STATE OF FLORIDA,

    Appellee.
                 _____________________________

On appeal from the Circuit Court for the Fourteenth Judicial
Circuit, Gulf County.
Devin D. Collier, Judge.

                       December 20, 2023

PER CURIAM.

     Appellant raises two issues on appeal from his judgment and
sentence for fleeing and attempting to elude a law enforcement
officer with high speed or reckless driving. § 316.1935(3)(a), Fla.
Stat. (2021). We affirm Issue I without comment. In Issue II,
Appellant argues the trial court erred in presumptively denying
his motion to correct sentencing errors regarding improperly
assessed court fees and costs. We agree in part as discussed below.

    Appellant argues the $100 cost of prosecution should not have
been assessed because it was not requested by the State at
sentencing. We recently held the State is not required to request
the mandatory cost of prosecution before the trial court may assess
this cost. See Parks v. State, 48 Fla. L. Weekly D1524 (Fla. 1st DCA
August 2, 2023). We affirm the $100 cost of prosecution in the
judgment and sentence.

     Appellant argues that the $150 public defender assistance fee
was assessed in error because there was no proof supporting a fee
more than the $100 minimum felony fee provided for in section
938.29(1)(a), Florida Statutes. We agree. Section 938.29(1)(a) is
clear that, “The court may set a higher amount upon a showing of
sufficient proof of higher fees or costs incurred.” Appellant did not
agree to this fee nor is there any evidence supporting the higher
fee in the record. We reverse the $150 public defender assistance
fee and remand to the trial court to assess the correct fee.

     Appellant challenges the following as lacking the required
statutory citation: $3 Law Enforcement Officer Radio System
Trust Fund and $1 per month Florida First Step. “‘[I]t is improper
to impose additional court costs without reference to statutory
authority, or an explanation in the record as to what the additional
costs represent.’” Williams v. State, 285 So. 3d 1003, 1005 (Fla. 1st
DCA 2019) (quoting Bradshaw v. State, 638 So. 2d 1024, 1025 (Fla.
1st DCA 1994)). We disagree with Appellant on the $3 Law
Enforcement Officer Radio System Trust Fund as the authority for
that cost, section 318.18(17), Florida Statutes, was referenced in
the written judgment and sentence. We affirm the $3 Law
Enforcement Officer Radio System Trust Fund cost.

     We agree with the State’s concession that the $1 per month
Florida First Step Act fee lacks proper statutory citation. Further,
we find no support for assessment of this fee in the record. We also
agree with the State’s concession that the $2 per month for
supervision pursuant to section 948.08, Florida Statutes, appears
to be in error. We reverse the imposition of these fees and remand
to the trial court for further consideration.

     We     AFFIRM Appellant’s         conviction    under   section
316.1935(3)(a), Florida Statutes. We REVERSE the aforementioned
portions of the written judgment and sentence and REMAND to the
trial court for further action consistent with this opinion.

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ROBERTS, KELSEY, and WINOKUR, JJ., concur.

               _____________________________

    Not final until disposition of any timely and
    authorized motion under Fla. R. App. P. 9.330 or
    9.331.
               _____________________________

Jessica J. Yeary, Public Defender, and Tyler Kemper Payne,
Assistant Public Defender, Tallahassee, for Appellant.

Ashley Moody, Attorney General, and Christina Day Piotrowski,
Assistant Attorney General, Tallahassee, for Appellee.

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