Anthony Cummings was arrested after being found sleeping outdoors and admitting he was homeless. He was charged with “Open Lodging,” a municipal ordinance violation, for which entered a guilty plea. He was sentenced to 5 days and a total of $273 in costs. After the costs remained unpaid, the Clerk of Court sent notice of a Criminal Suspension to the Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles (DHSMV), which suspended Cummings’ driver’s license.
Cummings moved to correct the judgment against him assessing costs, contending that the financial obligations assessed by the Court were not authorized by statute, ordinance, or administrative order for municipal ordinance violations. Cummings also sought an order reinstating his driver’s license, averring that his driver’s license suspension for not paying court costs related to a noncriminal municipal ordinance violation was unauthorized by statute.
The Court held that:
- The Court’s suspension of Cummings’ driver’s license for not paying financial obligations for municipal ordinance violations was in error and not authorized by Florida law;
- The imposition of the court costs set forth in Florida Statutes § 938.06 and 989.185, prosecution costs under Florida Statute § 938.27, and surcharge under Florida Statutes § 938.04, were illegally entered in the judgments as there was no legal authority to assess these costs for violations of municipal ordinances because such violations are not considered crimes or misdemeanors under Florida law; and
- The imposition court costs set forth in Florida Statutes § 775.083(2), 938.03(1), and 938.05(1)(b) were in error and not authorized by Florida law because the municipal ordinance to which Cummings pled guilty did not describe with sufficient particularity an offense that constitutes a misdemeanor under Florida law, nor did it adopt the misdemeanor of “trespass” from Chapter 810 of the Florida Statutes or sufficiently incorporate the legal elements of Chapter 810 so as to put persons who violate the municipal ordinance on notice that they are also responsible for court costs offenses that are misdemeanors under Chapter 810.
The Court therefore struck the driver’s license suspension and relevant costs and surcharges from the judgments. The Court ordered the Clerk of Court to immediately notify the DHSMV of the Court’s error that it had no authority to suspend Cummings’ driver’s license and to work with the DHSMV to correct the error of suspending the driver’s licenses of individuals who do not pay court costs and fines in other municipal ordinance cases. The Court further ordered the Clerk of Court to no longer notify the DHSMV of driver’s license suspensions for nonpayments of court costs and fines assessed for violations of municipal ordinances.
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