Criminal Justice Policy Program at Harvard Law School
50-State Criminal Justice Debt Reform Builder Bringing transparency to areas of significant legal complexity.
50-State Criminal Justice Debt Reform Builder Bringing transparency to areas of significant legal complexity.
Attorney General Opinions
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3 Results
| State | Citation | Description/Statute Name | Question | Brief answer | Language from the opinion | When does the case apply? | |
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Kansas | Kan. Att'y Gen. Op. No. 84-25 (Mar. 20, 1984) | Criminal ProcedureCosts in Criminal CasesLiability for Costs | What authority do county or municipal courts have to set fines or fees? |
A district magistrate or municipal court judge may not assess a defendant for "room and board" costs associated with his or her confinement in a city or county jail, unless + See morethe legislature enacts a statute so providing.
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it is our opinion that there is no statutory authority whereby a district magistrate judge or municipal court judge may assess a defendant for room and board costs associated with his or her + See moreconfinement in a city or county jail. Although what has been said above is dispositive of the question raised, we are impelled to note that, where the legislature enacts a statute so providing, the state or a subdivision thereof may initiate proceedings against a prisoner for reimbursement of the expenses attributable to his or her incarceration. See 72 C.J.S., Prisons § 26(e); 139 A.L.R. 1028; McAuliffe v. Carlson, 377 F.Supp. 896, 900 (1974).
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Fines and fees |
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Mississippi | 1996 WL 224005 (Miss.A.G.) | Mississippi-Attorney General opinion | What authority do county or municipal courts have to set fines or fees? | The court has the authority to impose "reasonable" fees for costs incurred by the court system. | In response, see the Primeaux opinion which states that Mississippi Code Annotated Section 21-23-7(11) allows a municipal court to impose reasonable costs of court which could include a service of process fee. | Fines and fees |
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Tennessee | Town of Nolensville v. King, 151 S.W.3d 427, 433 (Tenn. 2004); TN Const. Art. 6, § 14; | case law | What authority do county or municipal courts have to set fines or fees? | The Tennessee constitution does not allow a county or municipal court to set a fine or fee greater than $50 without a trial by jury. |
"Accordingly, for the reasons stated herein, we hold that Article VI, section 14 of the Tennessee Constitution prohibits a municipal court judge from imposing fines in excess of fifty dollars + See morefor a violation of a municipal ordinance, absent a valid waiver of the defendant's Article VI, section 14 right."
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Fines and fees |