I’ve heard a few recurrent questions recently regarding the imposition upon a defendant’s conviction of a $600 fee for support of the State Bureau of Investigation or for law enforcement purposes of a local government unit that operates a crime laboratory. First, is such a fee discretionary? Second, does it apply if the SBI laboratory report is not introduced at trial? Third, is there a fee that applies if the defendant fails to waive his confrontation rights and requires a laboratory analyst to testify at trial? The answer to the first two questions is yes. The answer to question three is no. The $600 fee is really a court cost authorized by G.S. 7A-304(a)(7) and (8), which state that the district court judge “shall,” upon conviction, order payment of $600 in certain cases for the services of the SBI lab or a local government crime lab that performs equivalent work. The fee applies when the laboratories have performed DNA analysis of the crime or tests of the defendant’s bodily fluid for the presence of alcohol or a controlled substance as part of the investigation leading to the defendant’s condition. Despite use of the mandatory “shall,” the provisions go on to allow the court to “waive or reduce the amount of the payment upon a just cause to grant such a waiver or reduction.” With the exception of the amount of the fee – which increased from $300 to $600 for offenses committed on or after September 1, 2009 – these statutory [...]
Faculty Coordinators
