Summary
holding wrongful imposition of a public defender's lien does not constitute fundamental error which may be challenged on direct appeal without having been presented to the trial court pursuant to Rule 3.800(b)
Summary of this case from Mills v. StateOpinion
No. SC93077.
Opinion filed June 15, 2000.
Application for Review of the Decision of the District Court of Appeal — Certified Great Public Importance
First District — Case No. 1D97-526.
(Okaloosa County)
Robert A. Butterworth, Attorney General, James W. Rogers, Bureau Chief, Criminal Appeals, and J. Ray Poole, Assistant Attorney General, Tallahassee, Florida, for Petitioner.
Nancy A. Daniels, Public Defender, and Glen P. Gifford, Assistant Public Defender, Second Judicial Circuit, Tallahassee, Florida, for Respondent.
We have for review Dodson v. State, 710 So.2d 159 (Fla. 1st DCA 1998), wherein the First District certified the following question to be one of great public importance:
WHETHER THE WRONGFUL IMPOSITION OF A PUBLIC DEFENDER'S LIEN CONSTITUTES FUNDAMENTAL ERROR WHICH MAY BE CHALLENGED ON DIRECT APPEAL WITHOUT HAVING BEEN PRESENTED TO THE TRIAL COURT, IN LIGHT OF SECTION 924.051(3), FLORIDA STATUTES (SUPP. 1996), AND AMENDED RULE 3.800(B), FLORIDA RULES OF CRIMINAL PROCEDURE.
For the reasons expressed in our opinion in Maddox v. State, 25 Fla. L. Weekly S367 (Fla. May 11, 2000), we answer the certified question in the negative. We quash the decision below and find that the unpreserved sentencing errors asserted in this case do not constitute fundamental error.
It is so ordered.
HARDING, C.J., and SHAW, WELLS, ANSTEAD, PARIENTE, LEWIS and QUINCE, JJ., concur.