Lynn v. State

• Docket Number: 4D22-3126
• Decision Date: 30 August 2023
• Parties: TAMMY LYNN, Appellant, v. STATE OF FLORIDA, Appellee.
• Court: Florida District Court of Appeals

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TAMMY LYNN, Appellant,
v.
STATE OF FLORIDA, Appellee.

No. 4D22-3126

Florida Court of Appeals, Fourth District

August 30, 2023

Not final until disposition of timely filed motion for rehearing.

Appeal from the County Court for the Nineteenth Judicial Circuit, Indian River County; Nicole Menz, Judge; L.T. Case No. 312022MM000803A.

Carey Haughwout, Public Defender, and Paul Edward Petillo, Assistant Public Defender, West Palm Beach, for appellant.

Ashley Moody, Attorney General, Tallahassee, and Anesha Worthy, Assistant Attorney General, West Palm Beach, for appellee.

PER CURIAM

Appellant Tammy Lynn appeals the judgment and sentence entered after a jury trial. Appellant challenges the constitutionality of the six-person jury that convicted her and the imposition of a $100.00 public defender fee exceeding the statutory $50.00 minimum. Appellant failed to preserve the former issue, and we have already rejected this issue on the merits. See Albritton v. State, 360 So.3d 1145, 1147 (Fla. 4th DCA 2023); Guzman v. State, 350 So.3d 72, 73 (Fla. 4th DCA 2022), rev. denied, No. SC22-1597, 2023 WL 3830251 (Fla. June 6, 2023). We thus affirm on this issue without further discussion. On the latter issue, however, we agree that the trial court erred in imposing a $100.00 public defender fee and thus reverse and remand with instructions.

Background

Appellant was charged with one count of resisting a law enforcement officer without violence. She proceeded to a jury trial, was convicted, and was sentenced to ten days in jail. The trial court also announced that the State was requesting a $25 dollar investigation cost, and a $100

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prosecution cost. Appellant agreed to pay those costs, which were the only costs or fees discussed before the court pronounced sentence, at which time it added additional fees and costs, including "a one hundred dollar ($100) Public Defender fee."

The trial court did not ask Appellant if she consented to any fees or costs apart from the investigation and prosecution costs. Nor did the court make any findings concerning the fees or costs incurred. Shortly after sentencing, Appellant filed a Florida Rule of Criminal Procedure 3.800(b)(2) motion to correct sentencing error, seeking to set aside the public defender fee, "unless and until th[e] Court complies with the requirements for [its] imposition." The trial court held a hearing on the motion and denied it. This appeal timely followed.

Analysis

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