Surprisingly, A Good Day

I had a pretty good day at work today.  I was busy, but the good kind of busy.  Not chaos.

I did receive a pro se motion to modify probation, so I thought I'd tell you a little about court costs.  The defendant requested that his court costs be waived.  This is one of the most common motions received from defendants after their cases have been disposed.  A judge can not waive court costs; they are statutorily mandated by the State.

The court can waive the costs of supervision by DOC probation, however, only when a defendant is unemployed.  Here in my area, two things can happen when a defendant can't or won't pay court costs.  The best option is to go to the Clerk of Court, get a final accounting of all costs owed on all cases (including traffic citations!) and request a collections court date.  The collections court judge can establish a payment plan based on the financial information that a defendant gives in court under oath.

The other option isn't the best: a deficiency judgment.  The Clerk is not only the keeper of county records, but also the keeper of county finances.  The clerk will send a notice to the defendant of past due court costs and give a final payment due date.  If the defendant fails to pay the amount owed, the clerk will enter a deficiency judgment, turn the account over to a collections agency, then send a notice to the DMV to suspend the defendant's driver's license until the judgment is satisfied.

So keep your payments current and don't violate your probation.  Probation is a privilege, not a right.

LC