Error and/or relief
It was error for the court to stay the court facilities assessment and a court operations assessment based on defendant’s inability to pay. We vacate those orders.
Holding:
If a defendant requests such consideration, a trial court must consider the defendant’s inability to pay before imposing a court operations assessment under section 1465.8(a)(1), or a court facilities assessment under Government Code section 70373(a)(1).
Here, however, the trial court at resentencing purported to impose but stay the assessments based on inability to pay, rather than waive them.
Because there appears to be no basis to justify denying criminal defendants a waiver of certain ancillary costs when civil litigants may receive such a waiver, we will modify the judgment to strike the imposed but stayed court facilities assessment and court operations assessment.
Authority:
People v. Kopp (2025) 19 Cal.5th 1, 30