§ 7A-455.1. Appointment fee in criminal cases.

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(a)In every criminal case in which counsel is appointed at the trial level, the judge shall order the defendant to pay to the clerk of court an appointment fee of seventy-five dollars ($75.00). No fee shall be due unless the person is convicted.

(b)The mandatory seventy-five dollar ($75.00) fee may not be remitted or revoked by the court and shall be added to any amounts the court determines to be owed for the value of legal services rendered to the defendant and shall be collected in the same manner as attorneys' fees are collected for such representation.

(c)Repealed by Session Laws 2005-250 s. 3, effective August 4, 2005.

(d)Inability, failure, or refusal to pay the appointment fee shall not be grounds for denying appointment of counsel, for withdrawal of counsel, or for contempt.

(e)The appointment fee required by this section shall be assessed only once for each attorney appointment, regardless of the number of cases to which the attorney was assigned. An additional appointment fee shall not be assessed if the charges for which an attorney was appointed were reassigned to a different attorney.

(f)Of each appointment fee collected under this section, the sum of seventy dollars ($70.00) shall be credited to the Indigent Persons' Attorney Fee Fund and the sum of five dollars ($5.00) shall be credited to the Court Information Technology Fund under G.S. 7A-343.2. These fees shall not revert.

(g)The Office of Indigent Defense Services shall adopt rules and develop forms to govern implementation of this section. (2002-126, s. 29A.9(a); 2003-284, s. 13.11; 2005-250, s. 3; 2009-451, s. 15.17I(a); 2010-31, s. 15.11(a); 2012-142, s. 16.5(h); 2020-83, s. 10.1(a).)