Watrous v. State
Watrous v. State
Opinion of the Court
Donald Watrous challenges a lien imposed in favor of Pasco County for attorney’s fees paid to his appointed appellate counsel. Watrous alleges the trial court erred by imposing the lien without giving him an opportunity to object to the amount of attorney’s fees awarded and by failing to determine his ability to pay before imposing the lien. We agree, in part, and remand for further proceedings.
Section 27.56(7), Florida Statutes (1995), provides that defendants must be given an opportunity to be heard and to object to the court’s determination on the amount of attorney’s fees and costs before a lien is imposed. In this case, the trial court imposed the $1,420 lien without giving Watrous this opportunity. Therefore, we remand with directions to give Watrous thirty days from the date of the mandate to file a written objection to the amount of the lien. If Wat-rous objects, the lien shall be stricken and a
Remanded with directions.
Case-law data current through December 31, 2025. Source: CourtListener bulk data.