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Sunday, August 03, 2008

Courts - "Ky. court fees spike sharply under new deal"

Jason Riley of the Louisville Courier Journal has a story today on the increased court costs in Kentucky. Some quotes:

Looking to get a court case expunged in Kentucky? The court fee just shot up to $100 from $25.

And you better bring extra money to the courthouse if you want to file a lawsuit -- which increased $35 -- or post a bond for somebody, because the bond filing fee jumped more than sixfold, to $25 from $4.

Almost three dozen fees in courts across the state rose last month in a deal completed on May 22 among Kentucky's Supreme Court, court officials and legislators.

The deal is expected to raise an additional $20 million over the next two years. The first $5 million each year will go back to the courts and the rest to Kentucky's General Fund, which pays for most state programs.

Both state and court officials say the higher fees were set to help counter state budget cuts, including a $55 million reduction in the judiciary budget over the next two years.

"It was essential," said Jason Nemes, director of the Administrative Office of the Courts. "The state is in a very difficult financial situation, and the judiciary is in the same boat."

Some court officials across the state, as well as citizens paying the new criminal and civil fees, say it is too large an increase happening too quickly, and that it hurts those least able to pay. * * *

State officials noted that Kentucky's court fees had fallen far behind those in other states and are now much more in line -- though actually a little higher.

In Ohio, the fees differ by county, but in Cincinnati, for example, it costs $50 to get a case expunged and at least $225 to file a lawsuit, compared to $100 for an expungement here and $153 to file a suit in circuit court under the new fee structure.

In Tennessee, expungements also cost $100 and filing a lawsuit can cost anywhere between $75 and $225.

Indiana, however, charges just $5 for a bond fee and $100 to file a lawsuit.

Here is a chart on Kentucky fees that accompanies the story.

What about Indiana? First, expungement appears to be a limited remedy in Indiana. A case dealing with the issue was granted transfer on July 11th - see ILB entry here. See also this ILB entry from Feb. 24, 2007 and its links. And if you are a lawyer who has been disciplined , you are totally out of luck - the Supreme Court has no procedures to expunge a lawyer’s record of professional misconduct - see this Feb. 26, 2007 ILB entry.

Second, re Indiana's court costs, three years ago the Fort Wayne Journal Gazette had several articles on soaring court costs in Indiana. The stories are quoted in this Aug. 14, 2005 ILB entry. Some quotes from the JG:

Fees and costs work somewhat differently in civil and criminal courts, although usually contain three possible layers.

When a case of any kind is filed in a civil court the filer is charged a fee. The majority of that fee consists of a base $100 but over the years legislators have added fees. For instance, to initiate divorce proceedings costs $130. The additional $30 encompasses a second layer of fees: a document storage fee, an automated record keeping fee, a public defense administration fee, a judicial insurance adjustment fee, a judicial salaries fee and a court administration fee.

And the cost could go even higher depending on a third layer of fees that are discretionary to each county or judge, such as a $20 alternative dispute resolution fee collected in Allen County that kicks the cost to $150.

On the criminal side, the costs are paid only after conviction. The base criminal costs are $120 but a second layer of mandatory fees makes it $156 for felonies and misdemeanors and $106 for infractions and ordinance violations.

There are about a dozen other possible fees that can be added by a judge in specific cases, such as a child abuse prevention fee, domestic violence prevention and treatment fee, a safe schools fee and highway work zone fee. * * *

The most dramatic increase in court fees, and the one that seems to ring an alarm bell, is in the small-claims division.

Known as a citizens’ court, this is where average Hoosiers come to settle smaller monetary disputes without an attorney.

In 2000, the cost to file a small-claims case was just $35, which can be recouped if a person wins the case.

But as of July, that filing fee has doubled to $70 and is among the highest in the nation, according to Tom Gordon, senior counsel for HALT, a consumer advocacy group based in Washington, D.C., that focuses on the consumption of legal services.

Here is !C 33-37, dealing with court fees. I've been unable to locate a simple, one-page statement of current Indiana court fees.

Posted by Marcia Oddi on August 3, 2008 08:11 AM
Posted to Courts in general