Rocker v. State, 93-1449

Citation640 So.2d 163
Decision Date29 July 1994
Docket NumberNo. 93-1449,93-1449
Parties19 Fla. L. Weekly D1620 Harry A. ROCKER, Appellant, v. STATE of Florida, Appellee.
CourtCourt of Appeal of Florida (US)

GOSHORN, Judge.

Upon consideration of appellee's motion for rehearing, we withdraw our opinion issued May 13, 1994 and issue the following opinion in its stead.

In this criminal appeal, Harry A. Rocker raises several issues regarding the fees and costs assessed following his plea. First, he argues that the trial court erred by imposing costs pursuant to sections 960.20, 943.25 and 27.3455, Florida Statutes (1991) on a per count, rather than a per case basis. This court has squarely addressed the issue of section 27.3455 fees in Hollingsworth v. State, 632 So.2d 176 (Fla. 5th DCA 1994). In Hollingsworth, we reversed the trial court and held that the clear language of section 27.3455(1) mandates that costs are to be imposed per case and not per count. Applying a similar analysis to section 960.20 and section 943.25, we hold that those costs likewise must be imposed per case and not per count. Accordingly, the duplicative costs are stricken.

We reject, however, Rocker's remaining points on appeal. Rocker asserts that he was not given adequate notice to dispute the amount of the public defender's lien and local court costs, and further, that the court was required to determine his ability to pay the court costs before their imposition. However, the record reflects that the fees and costs were part of his plea agreement, and thus, notice and a hearing were unnecessary. See Aira v. State, 583 So.2d 419 (Fla. 5th DCA 1991) (finding that it is proper to impose a public defender's lien without notice or an opportunity to be heard where defendant stipulated to the amount of the fee), quashed on other grounds, 593 So.2d 1049 (Fla.1992).

As corrected, Rocker's judgment of conviction is affirmed.

AFFIRMED.

HARRIS, C.J., and COBB, J., concur.

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7 cases
  • McNeil v. State
    • United States
    • Court of Appeal of Florida (US)
    • March 13, 2015
    ...statute required costs to be assessed against “every person” convicted of specified crimes. Id. Just a month later, in Rocker v. State, 640 So.2d 163 (Fla. 5th DCA 1994), citing Hollingsworth, but ignoring Wallace, we struck the costs assessed on a per count basis under sections 27.3455(1) ......
  • McNeil v. State
    • United States
    • United States State Supreme Court of Florida
    • April 13, 2017
    ...but then summarily discounts, of the longstanding rule that "costs are to be imposed per case and not per count." Rocker v. State , 640 So.2d 163, 163 (Fla. 5th DCA 1994).5 Because the text of the statutes at issue in this case is ambiguous, especially as it does not demonstrate the Legisla......
  • Hunter v. State, 93-3480
    • United States
    • Court of Appeal of Florida (US)
    • March 14, 1995
    ...per-count rather than a per-case theory, appellant cites Hollingsworth v. State, 632 So.2d 176 (Fla. 5th DCA 1994), and Rocker v. State, 640 So.2d 163 (Fla. 5th DCA 1994), which hold that costs levied under sections 960.20, 943.25 and 27.3455 must be imposed on a per-case basis. See also Wa......
  • Rafael v. State, 94-3887
    • United States
    • Court of Appeal of Florida (US)
    • August 20, 1996
    ...to be imposed on a per case, rather than a per count, basis. See Hunter v. State, 651 So.2d 1258 (Fla. 1st DCA 1995); Rocker v. State, 640 So.2d 163 (Fla. 5th DCA 1994); Hollingsworth v. State, 632 So.2d 176 (Fla. 5th DCA 1994). Accordingly, we reverse and remand the sentence for Count II w......
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