The defendant was stopped in his vehicle for following too closely, and officers discovered marijuana and drug paraphernalia in his possession. The defendant was charged with two separate misdemeanor drug offenses and convicted of both at a jury trial. The trial court entered two judgments and assessed two court costs. G.S. 7A-304(a) states that court costs shall be assessed “in every criminal case,” so the issue on appeal was whether this matter represented one case or two (i.e., the one underlying event or the two separate criminal charges). The Court of Appeals concluded that there were reasonable arguments in favor of both interpretations, and neither the plain language nor the legislative history of the statute provides a clear answer. Turning to the spirit and purpose behind the act, the appellate court held that court costs are not intended to be a punishment or a fine; instead, they are only intended to recoup the actual costs imposed on the justice system. “With this in mind, we hold that when multiple criminal charges arise from the same underlying event or transaction and are adjudicated together in the same hearing or trial, they are part of a single ‘criminal case’ for purposes of the costs statute. Accordingly, we vacate the imposition of costs in one of the two judgments against Rieger.”