Latest posts tagged with fines and fees on North Carolina Criminal Law Blog

The Administrative Office of the Courts has issued a new form, AOC-CR-415, through which a person can make a motion for relief from costs, fines, and other monetary obligations. The form also doubles as the order through which a judge can rule on the motion.

If a defendant has fully served a term of imprisonment, can he or she be further imprisoned for not paying a fine or costs?

In today’s post I’m sharing two draft forms with which a defendant might gather information about his or her financial situation and, based on that situation, request relief from various monetary obligations, including costs, fines, and restitution.

Two recent cases from the Court of Appeals highlight a recurring issue related to money in criminal cases: the requirement to give a defendant notice and an opportunity to be heard before entry of a judgment for attorney fees.

When a defendant has multiple charges adjudicated together in the same hearing or trial, and those charges arose from the same underlying event or transaction, the court should assess costs only once. That’s the new rule according to State v. Rieger, a case recently decided by the court of appeals.

Some of you have probably seen the School’s bench card on Criminal Monetary Obligations (it is available here). It may sometimes be helpful as a background reference, but it’s not set up in a way that helps a court put the law into action.

You need a form.

The Administrative Office of the Courts has issued its most recent report on cost waivers to the General Assembly. This report covers the first full year of cost waiver data since the General Assembly’s amendment of G.S. 7A-304(a), requiring written notice and an opportunity to be heard for any government entity directly affected by a waiver. Let’s see if that change had an impact on waiver practices.