Boyd v. State
Boyd v. State
Opinion of the Court
In this direct criminal appeal, appellant contends the trial court erred in ordering him to pay a cost of prosecution which the court ordered pursuant to section 939.01, Florida Statutes, in a separate “Order Assessing Costs and Converting to Civil Judgment.” We reverse and remand.
The trial court accepted appellant’s plea of no contest to one count of sexual battery. In exchange for the plea, the State had agreed to recommend three years of probation, withholding adjudication of guilt, and appellant had agreed to sexual abuse counseling. The written plea did not specifically mention payment of costs, but it did provide that appellant understood that the court could “impose the same punishment as if I had plead not guilty, stood trial, and been convicted.”
First, appellant contends, and we agree, that the cost was not authorized by section 939.01, because he was not “convicted,” rather, adjudication was withheld, see Reyes v. State, 655 So.2d 111 (Fla. 2d DCA 1995) (en banc opinion on rehearing); Knaus v. State, 608 So.2d 557 (Fla. 2d DCA 1992); Clinger v. State, 533 So.2d 315 (Fla. 5th DCA 1988). However, appellant acknowledges that under the theory set out in Clinger, when adjudication is withheld, the cost can be imposed as a condition of probation.
Next, appellant contends the cost cannot be imposed as a condition of probation without first giving him an opportunity to withdraw his plea, because it was not part of the negotiated plea agreement. We dis
Finally, we reject appellant’s argument that the cost was not reasonably related to the offense.
REVERSED and REMANDED.
. We note that, had the cost been imposed validly under section 939.01, the statute directs that it shall be made a condition of probation. See § 939.01(4), Fla.Stat.
Case-law data current through December 31, 2025. Source: CourtListener bulk data.