State v. Johnston

31 P.3d 1101, 176 Or. App. 418, 2001 Ore. App. LEXIS 1351
CourtCourt of Appeals of Oregon
DecidedSeptember 5, 2001
Docket0005496C A111471
StatusPublished
Cited by11 cases

This text of 31 P.3d 1101 (State v. Johnston) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals of Oregon primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
State v. Johnston, 31 P.3d 1101, 176 Or. App. 418, 2001 Ore. App. LEXIS 1351 (Or. Ct. App. 2001).

Opinion

*420 BREWER, J.

Defendant was convicted of criminal nonsupport, ORS 163.555, and felony failure to appear, ORS 162.205. The trial court sentenced him to probation and ordered that he serve 60 days in the county jail as a condition of probation, with credit for time served. The trial court also ordered, as a special condition of probation, that defendant “[s]hall pay per diem of $39.75 for each day served” in the county jail. Defendant appeals, arguing that the trial court lacked authority to order him to pay the described amount as a special condition of probation. According to defendant, costs for confinement of a person in a local correctional facility may be assessed and recovered only as provided in ORS 169.151. The state responds that the trial court’s order was authorized under ORS 137.540(1), relating to general conditions of probation; under ORS 137.540(2), relating to special conditions of probation; or both. We affirm.

The legislature generally has plenary authority to enact laws governing the sentences for criminal offenses, subject to applicable constitutional restrictions. State v. McDonnell, 329 Or 375, 382, 987 P2d 486 (1999). Probation is a sentence. State v. Zimmerman, 166 Or App 635, 999 P2d 547 (2000); see also ORS 137.520 to ORS 137.630; OAR 213-005-0006. Conditions of probation must be consistent with the sentencing court’s legislatively conferred authority. See State v. Kappelman, 162 Or App 170, 986 P2d 603 (1999) (conditions of probation imposed by the trial court were not authorized under applicable statutes).

Consistent with those principles, we need not determine whether ORS 169.151 precluded the court’s order in this case if, in the first instance, the trial court lacked authority under ORS 137.540 or other applicable statute to order defendant, as a condition of probation, to pay per diem costs of his time served in the county jail. We therefore begin with ■that question. ORS 137.540 provides, in part:

“(1) The court may sentence the defendant to probation, which shall be subject to the following general conditions unless specifically deleted by the court. The probationer shall:
*421 “(a) Pay supervision fees, fines, restitution or other fees ordered by the court.
‡ * * *
“(2) In addition to the general conditions, the court may impose any special conditions of probation that are reasonably related to the crime of conviction or the needs of the defendant for the protection of the public or reformation of the offender, or both, including, but not limited to, [specified conditions not relevant here.]” (Emphasis added.)

Again, the state argues that, notwithstanding ORS 169.151, the sentencing court was authorized to impose per diem jail costs as a “fee” authorized under ORS 137.540(l)(a), providing for general conditions of probation. Alternatively, the state argues that the court was authorized to impose those costs as a special condition of probation under ORS 137.540(2), because the costs were related to defendant’s reformation — including remedying his past failures to take personal responsibility for his conduct and his obligations — and, therefore, the protection of the public. 1

We first consider whether jail costs may be imposed as a general condition of probation, that is, as an “other fee[ ] imposed by the court” under ORS 137.540(l)(a). The criminal code does not define the term “fee.” Webster’s Third. New Int’l Dictionary, 833 (unabridged ed 1993), defines “fee” as

“a charge fixed by law or by an institution (as a university) for certain privileges or services <a license [fee]> * * * a charge fixed by law for the services of a public officer * * * compensation often in the form of a fixed charge for professional service * * *.” 2

The ordinary legal meaning of “fee” is a “charge for labor or services, especially professional services.” Black’s Law Dictionary, 629 (7th ed 1999). In turn, “service” means, as pertinent here, not only “professional or other useful ministration” but also “the duties, work or business performed or discharged by a government official.” Webster’s Third New *422 Int’l Dictionary at 2075. Afee therefore ordinarily is a charge, often a fixed charged, for a professional or other useful service, including a service or function provided by a governmental body. 3 Under that definition, a fee plausibly can include a charge imposed to recover the costs of maintaining an offender in a local correctional facility.

We do not perceive any meaningful distinction in this context between the term “fee” and related terms such as “cost” or “expense.” Each of the latter terms also is defined in part as an amount paid or charged for a service rendered. See Webster’s Third New Int’l Dictionary at 515, 800. Consistently with the similarity between the meaning of the term “fee” and the meanings of the terms “costs” and “expenses,” several provisions of the criminal code authorize imposition of a “fee” to offset or recover “costs.” See, e.g., ORS 137.630 (setting out duties of probation officers and providing that probation officers shall not be required to collect from supervised persons “any fees to offset the costs of supervising the probation”); ORS 144.102

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
31 P.3d 1101, 176 Or. App. 418, 2001 Ore. App. LEXIS 1351, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/state-v-johnston-orctapp-2001.