North Carolina § 7A-455 - 1. Appointment fee in criminal cases.

§ 7A-455. 1. Appointment fee in criminal cases.

In every criminal case in which counsel is appointed at the trial level, the judge shall order the defendant to pay to the clerk of court an appointment fee of seventy-five dollars ($75.00). No fee shall be due unless the person is convicted. The mandatory seventy-five dollar ($75.00) fee may not be remitted or revoked by the court and shall be added to any amounts the court determines to be owed for the value of legal services rendered to the defendant and shall be collected in the same manner as attorneys' fees are collected for such representation. Repealed by Session Laws 2005-250 s. 3, effective August 4, 2005. Inability, failure, or refusal to pay the appointment fee shall not be grounds for denying appointment of counsel, for withdrawal of counsel, or for contempt. The appointment fee required by this section shall be assessed only once for each attorney appointment, regardless of the number of cases to which the attorney was assigned. An additional appointment fee shall not be assessed if the charges for which an attorney was appointed were reassigned to a different attorney. Of each appointment fee collected under this section, the sum of seventy dollars ($70.00) shall be credited to the Indigent Persons' Attorney Fee Fund and the sum of five dollars ($5.00) shall be credited to the Court Information Technology Fund under G.S. 7A-343.2. These fees shall not revert. The Office of Indigent Defense Services shall adopt rules and develop forms to govern implementation of this section. History (2002-126, s. 29A.9(a); 2003-284, s. 13.11; 2005-250, s. 3; 2009-451, s. 15.17I(a); 2010-31, s. 15.11(a); 2012-142, s. 16.5(h); 2020-83, s. 10.1(a).) Editor's Note. - Session Laws 2002-126, s. 29A.9(c), made this section effective December 1, 2002, and applicable to all requests for the appointment of counsel made on or after that date. Session Laws 2002-126, s. 1.2, provides: "This act shall be known as 'The Current Operations, Capital Improvements, and Finance Act of 2002'." Session Laws 2002-126, s. 31.6, contains a severability clause. Session Laws 2009-451, s. 15.17I(b), provides: "The Administrative Office of the Courts shall monitor the collection of indigent appointment fees under G.S. 7A-455.1 and the recoupment rates for each office of the clerk of superior court and shall report quarterly on its findings to the Joint Legislative Commission on Governmental Operations." Session Laws 2009-451, s. 1.2, provides: "This act shall be known as the 'Current Operations and Capital Improvements Appropriations Act of 2009'." Session Laws 2009-451, s. 28.3, provides: "Except for statutory changes or other provisions that clearly indicate an intention to have effects beyond the 2009-2011 fiscal biennium, the textual provisions of this act apply only to funds appropriated for, and activities occurring during, the 2009-2011 fiscal biennium." Session Laws 2009-451, s. 28.5 is a severability clause. Session Laws 2020-83, s. 10.1(g), made the amendment of this section by Session Laws 2020-83, s. 10.1(a), effective December 1, 2020, and applicable to costs assessed on or after that date. Effect of Amendments. - Session Laws 2009-451, s. 15.17I(a), effective July 1, 2009, in subsection (a), in the first sentence, substituted "In every criminal case in which counsel is appointed at the trial level, the judge shall order the defendant to" for "Each person for whom counsel is appointed in a criminal case at the trial level shall" near the middle; and in subsection (b), inserted "mandatory" and "may not be remitted or revoked by the court and" near the beginning. Session Laws 2010-31, s. 15.11(a), effective October 1, 2010, and applicable to fees assessed or collected on or after that date, in subsection (a), substituted "sixty dollars ($60.00)" for "fifty dollars ($50.00)"; in subsection (b), substituted "sixty-dollar ($60.00) fee" for "fifty dollar ($50.00) fee"; and in subsection (f), substituted "fifty-five dollars ($55.00)" for "forty-five dollars." Session Laws 2012-142, s. 16.5(g), effective July 2, 2012, and expiring June 30, 2013, inserted "and Facilities" near the end of subsection (f). Session Laws 2020-83, s. 10.1(a), substituted "seventy-five dollars ($75.00)" for "sixty dollars ($60.00)" in the first sentence of subsection (a); substituted "seventy-five dollar ($75.00)" for "sixty-dollar ($60.00)" in subsection (b); and substituted "seventy dollars ($70.00)" for "fifty-five dollars ($55.00)" in subsection (f). For effective date and applicability, see editor's note. Legal Periodicals. - For article, "Criminalizing Poverty in North Carolina: Fines and Fees," see 41 N.C. Cent. L. Rev. 25 (2018).