9/23/1997 - Laserfiche WebLink

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ON MOTION by Commissioner Adams, SECONDED BY Commissioner Ginn, the Board unanimously awarded Bid #8010 for Janitorial Supplies to St. Lucie Paper & Packaging, Ft Pierce; authorized establishing an open end contract for a 12 - month period from the date of the award; and authorized the Purchasing Manager to renew the contract subject to satisfactory performance, zero cost increase, vendor acceptance, and the determination that renewal is in the best interest of the County, as recommended in the Memorandum. K Payment of Indigent Appellant Filing Fees The Board reviewed a Memorandum dated September 15, 1997: TO: Board of County Commissioners FROM: Terrence P. O'Brien, Assistant County Attomeyyolz DATE: September 15, 1997 SUBJECT: PAYMENT OF INDIGENT APPELLANT FILING FEES BACKGROUND: Counties across the state have traditionally been charged appellate filing fees for indigent defendants. The County is required to pay certain enumerated costs for indigent defendants when such persons are represented by the Office of the Public Defender. In such cases, costs incurred are paid by the County pursuant to Florida Statues 27.54(3). Past practice has been to pay appellate filing fees to the Clerk of the District Court of Appeal, in the amount of $250.00 per case. This was recently and successfully contested by the Palm Beach County in Circuit Court and the County was not requested to pay the filing fee. ANALYSIS: The basis for this position is that Section 57.081 (1), Florida Statutes, states that any indigent person in any judicial proceeding shall receive the services of the court without charge, including filing. In addition, Section 924.17, Florida Statutes, provides that should the court find the defendant is indigent and unable to pay costs, "the appeal shall be a supersedeas without payment of costs". Furthermore, Florida Rules of judicial Administration, Rule 2.040(b)(3), and Florida Rules of Appellate Procedure, Rule 9.430, also support the fact that an indigent person need not pay filing fees. 20 SEPTEMBER 23, 1997