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NORTH CAROLINA POVERTY RESEARCH FUND 5 Court Fines and Fees: Criminalizing Poverty in North Carolina amount of $178 in district court for an infraction and $180 for a misdemeanor (Table 1). Defendants appearing in superior court face fees starting at $205.9 As noted above, other fees may apply depending on the case. Defendants with a driving related conviction have to pay an additional $10 fee, $50 if they are convicted of an improper equipment offense.10 Defendants are charged $600 for each lab test and expert witness used in their prosecution.11 There are collection fees, fees for paying on an installment plan or paying late.12 There are failure to appear fees for missing court dates and failure to comply fees for not paying on time; fees for participating in court- sponsored community service, monthly fees for supervised probation and one-time and daily fees for electronic monitoring systems.13 Astonishingly, defendants who request a public attorney have to pay an appointment fee and an hourly attorney fee, even if they are declared indigent by the court.14 There are jail fees and other incarceration costs.15 (Appendix 1 contains a schedule of court costs.) Table 1. District Court Fees, Criminal Case Mandatory Fees Amount General Court of Justice Fee $147.50 Facilities Fee $12.00 Telecommunications and Data Connectivity Fee $4.00 LEO Retirement/Insurance* $7.50 LEO Training and Certification Fee* $2.00 Service Fee (for each arrest or service of process) $5.00 DNA Fee (for criminal conviction, not infraction) $2.00 Total $180.00 Other Common Fees Chapter 20 Fee (driving-related) +$10.00 Appointment of Counsel Fee +$60.00 Installment Payments Fee +$20.00 Community Service Fee +$250.00 Improper Equipment Fee +$50.00 Jail Fee (pre-conviction) +$10.00/day Jail Fee (local facility) +$40.00/day *Note: Law Enforcement Officer Source: North Carolina Administrative Office of the Courts The payment of fines and fees is enforced with penalties that include additional monetary sanctions, driver’s license revocation and, incredibly, jail time. Although debtor’s prison in the United States was banned under federal law in 1833, poor people are still regularly incarcerated because they can’t pay their court debts. Courts are supposed to inquire into defendants’ ability to pay before jailing them, but this rule is often skirted or ignored. Judges have the authority to waive many court costs. However, judges waive costs in only about 8% of cases statewide.16 (See appendix 2 for a map of waiver rates by county.) This occasional reprieve is still too much for state lawmakers, who have taken a disturbing series of steps in recent years to rein in the use 9 North Carolina Administrative Office of the Courts, “Court Costs and Fees Chart.” 10 N.C. Gen. Stat. § 7A-304(a)(4a) and (4b). Examples of improper equipment include driving with a burned-out headlamp or illegal window tinting. 11 N.C. Gen. Stat. § 7A-304(a)(7)-(8a) (labs) and N.C. Gen. Stat. § 7A-304(a)(11)-(13) (expert witness). 12 See N.C. Gen. Stat. § 7A-321 (collection fees); N.C. Gen. Stat. § 7A-304(f) (installment payment fee); N.C. Gen. Stat. § 7A- 304(a)(6) (late payments). 13 N.C. Gen. Stat. § 7A-304(a)(6) (fees for failure to appear and failure to comply); N.C. Gen. Stat. § 143B-708 (community service fee); N.C. Gen. Stat. § 15A-1343(c1) (supervised probation fee); N.C. Gen. Stat. § 15A-1343(c2) (electronic monitoring fees). 14 N.C. Gen. Stat. § 7A-455.1 15 Eisen, “Paying for Your Time”; Evans, “Doing Time on Their Own Dime.” 16 North Carolina Administrative Office of the Courts, 2017 Report on Criminal Cost Waivers.