New Clerk AcademyCriminal Court & Jury

State Reporting Requirements

February 27, 2013Gainesville, FL

State Reporting Requirements

Linda Doggett, Lee County Clerk

Alex Alford, Walton County Clerk

State Reporting Requirements

Many State reports are required but today, we will focus on two…

1. Assessments & Collections Annual Report• Also known as Mandatory & Discretionary

2. Collections Rate Quarterly Report• One of the Performance Measures reports

Assessments & Collections• AKA – Mandatory Discretionary

• Mandated by FS 28.246

• Report is produced annually, for the timeframe of October 1(year 1) to September 30 (year 2)

• Report is due to the FCCC by the 18th day of October; the FCCC compiles all the data for an annual report to the legislature (and CCOC) which is due by December 1st

• Prior year reports (i.e. 2011-2012) are available on the FCCC website

Assessments & Collections• Report provides information on :

• what fines/costs/fees are ordered by the court,

• what mandatorily could have been ordered by the court (statute driven), and

• what amounts were waived / discharged.

Assessments & Collections• Senate Bill 1964 (July 2012) identified changes to the report

for the current reporting year (Oct 2012 – Sep 2013)

• Legislature is expecting the Clerks to report consistently and accurately on this information

Assessments & CollectionsSome examples of past high-level issues include:• Not capturing information in the CMS or Finance Systems for certain

reported fields (i.e. civil judgment/liens)• Not reporting all “possible” assessments for mandatory costs• Multiple interpretations of the report guidelines influenced data

comparisons. For example, reporting of converted or reduced assessments.

• Information not available (in the courtroom) to determine if a reduced fine is permitted by law. For example, drug cases where defendant assists with the conviction of another.

• Incorrect classification and recording of data into local case maintenance systems.

• Judicial actions may differ even in counties within the same circuit, affecting data comparison.

Assessments & Collections• Karen Rushing established a project workgroup to focus on

this initiative; goal was to provide updated reporting templates and clearly defined guidelines for report content

• Alex Nicholas is the project leader (FCCC)

• Participating counties included Alachua, Hillsborough, Marion, Miami-Dade, Sarasota, Palm Beach, Pinellas, Putnam plus members from OSCA and CCOC

• Final Drafts of the project materials are available from the FCCC; the Supreme Court has still not approved of the reporting form template or the mandatory fines/costs (minimums by statute guide)

Assessments & Collections

• The workgroup developed the format of the Report Guidelines to provide guidance for some of these issues.

• However, the challenge is for individual Clerk offices to analyze their workflow, classification and recoding processes in order to report correct data.

Assessments & Collections• New report format may impact your CMS/Finance Reporting

system(s)

• Report in new format, using new guidelines must be ready by October 2013

• Data being collected for the report has already started; you may need to have your teams review how you are capturing information in your systems and if you are able to meet the new report guidelines

Assessments & Collections

2013 Report Form 12/12/12

* FINAL DRAFT 2013 REPORT FORM *

Annual Assessments and Collections Report for 2013 (Note X)

Payment of Court-Related Fines or other Monetary Penalties, Fees, Charges, and Costs

Pursuant to ss. 28.2457 and 28.246, Florida Statutes (2012)

Please provide the following information:

County: County Name Contact: Contact Name

Contact eMail Address: Contact eMail Address

Phone: Contact Area Code-Number Reporting Period: Oct. 1, 2012 - Sept. 30, 2013

Identify your Vendor Case Maintenance System used: (i.e.: Clericus/Odyssey/Pioneer, In-House, etc.)

Identify your Vendor Financial System used: (i.e.: In-house, Vendor financial module, etc.)

Assessments & CollectionsBlack-Out Areas Indicate No Data Required.

CIRCUIT CRIMINAL (Felony)

Fines, Court Costs and Other Monetary Penalties - Mandatory and Discretionary AmountsLine Mandatory Discretionary

1Amount to be Assessed (Mandatory Minimum by Statute/Ordinance)

2 Amount Under-Assessed, if any

3 Amount Actually Assessed

4 Minus: Community Service

5 Minus: Satisfied by Time Served

6 Minus: Other

7 Total Collectible Amount

8 Reduced to Judgment/Lien (For Disclosure Only)

Fees, Service Charges and Costs - All assessments are mandatory Mandatory Discretionary

9Amount to be Assessed (Mandatory Minimum by Statute/Ordinance)

10 Amount Under-Assessed, if any

11 Amount Actually Assessed

12 Minus: Community Service

13 Minus: Satisfied by Time Served

14 Minus: Other

15 Total Collectible Amount

16 Reduced to Judgment/Lien (For Disclosure Only)

Assessments & Collections

Collection Rate (Combines All Fines, Court Costs, Monetary Penalties AND Fees, Services Charges, Costs for Circuit Criminal)

17 Fines: Total Collectible Amt. (Includes Judgment/Liens)

18 Fees: Total Collectible Amount $ 30,000.00

19 Total Collections

20 Collection Rate %

Circuit Criminal Statistics

21 Number of Drug Trafficking Cases

22 Number of Drug Trafficking Counts Adjudicated

23 Total amount actually assessed for Drug Trafficking Convictions $

Assessments & Collections

CIRCUIT FELONY & COUNTY CRIMINAL COURT(County Criminal includes Criminal Traffic and Misdemeanors)

Authority DescriptionImposition Mandatory

Imposition Discretionary

Minimum Required

Maximum Authorized Comments

Line Fines, Court Costs, and Other Monetary Penalties:

122

775.083(1)(a)(b)(c)(d)(e) Fines

xxxxx

$0.00$0.00$0.00$0.00$0.00

$15,000.00$10,000.00$ 5,000.00$ 1,000.00$ 500.00

Life felony1st or 2nd degree felony3rd degree felony1st degree misdemeanor2nd degree misdemeanor or non-criminal violation

27 316.193(2)(b)3.DUI Penalties: BAL under 0.15 - 4th or subsequent offense x $2,000.00 $5,000.00 3rd degree felony

51 327.35(2)(b)3.BUI Penalties: BAL under 0.15 - 4th or subsequent violation x $2,000.00 $5,000.00 3rd degree felony

207 938.055 FDLE Operating Trust Fund x $100.00 $100.00 For trafficking in illegal drugs, pursuant to s. 893.1319 316.192(2)(b) Reckless driving - 2nd offense x $50.00 $1,000.00 Note: Assessment is mandatory without a jail sentence18 316.192(2)(a) Reckless driving - 1st offense x $25.00 $500.00 Note: Assessment is mandatory without a jail sentence4 117.05(1) Unlawful use of notary commission x $0.00 $3,000.00 3rd degree feloy

5 258.008(2)State Parks and Preserves Prohibited Activities - Failure to Comply x $0.00 $500.00 2nd degree misdemeanor

6 258.008(3)State Parks and Preserves Prohibited Activities x $0.00 $500.00 2nd degree misdemeanor

7 316.027(1)(b)Failure of driver to remain at the scene of a crash involving death x $0.00 $10,000.00 1st degree felony

8 316.061(1) Crash with property damage x $0.00 $500.00 2nd degree misdemeanor

10 316.063(1) Damaging unattended property x $0.00 $500.00 2nd degree misdemeanor

Assessments & Collections

• Challenges to accurate reporting are primarily related to courtroom processes, for example:• announcing the fines as mandatory, • announcing the offense degree (1st , 2nd on DUI and drugs) and • announcing what count should be assessed the fine(s) where

there are multiples on the case.

Assessments & CollectionsFine SHALL Not be Less Than $500 and Not greater Than $1,000 (Discretionary Range)

Minimum $500 – Maximum $1,000

Amount. to be Assessed (Statutory Mandatory Minimum)

Amount Under Assessed, if any

Amount Actually Assessed

Minus: Community Service

Minus: Satisfied by Time Served

Minus: Other Total Collectible Amount

$500 $0 $900 $0 $0 $0 $900

$500 $300 $200 $0 $0 $0 $200

$500 $0 $1,000 $0 $500 $0 $500

Assessments & CollectionsFine SHALL Impose $200,000 Fine

Minimum $200,000

Amount to be Assessed (Statutory Mandatory Minimum)

Amount Under Assessed, if any

Amount Actually Assessed

Minus: Community Service

Minus: Satisfied by Time Served

Minus: Other Total Collectible Amount

$200,000 $100,000 $100,000 $0 $0 $0 $100,000

$200,000 $0* $100,000 $0 $0 $0 $100,000

Chart 3: Mandatory Fine Example*Note: When specific statutory authority exists a mandatory fine may be reduced. For example, a Drug Trafficking assessment may be reduced, per negotiated agreement, as stated in s. 893.135(4), F.S. The Clerk would have to be informed of this reduction in order to record the assessment correctly

Assessments & Collections

No. Date Revision Description/Rationale Author1. 11/08/12 Baseline Final Draft for presentation at FCCC 2012 Fall

Conference, Orlando, Florida FCCC Assessments and Collections Report Project Workgroup

2. 12/06/12 Amended based on Clerk and Clerk staff feedback from November FCCC 2012 Conference

FCCC Assessments and Collections Report Project Workgroup

3. 12/13/12 Final changes based on Clerk and Clerk staff feedback form November FCCC 2012 Conference and approved by Report Form and Guidelines Workgroup.

FCCC Assessments and Collections Report Project Workgroup

4.

Contact Information: For questions, issues, discrepancies, or recommendations about this document please contact The Florida Court Clerks & Comptrollers:

Contact person: Alex NicholasEmail: anicholas@flclerks.comPhone 850-921-0808

Final Draft Report Guidelines 2013 Annual Assessments and Collections Report

Document Revision Schedule

Assessments & Collections

• Weblink to Project Documents: http://www.flclerks.com/Intranet/Clerk_Info/a_c_reports.html

Collections Report

• Mandated by FS 28.35(2)(d)

• The collection rate is the total of all collections related to the assessment control group divided by the actual assessments of the reporting period.

Calculation Logic

Collection Rate = Total Amount Collected divided by the Total Amount Assessed (+) or (–) Adjustments to Assessments

o Report is produced quarterly.

• There is a separate worksheet for each court type. E.g. Criminal circuit, criminal county, criminal juvenile delinquency (juveniles) criminal traffic (UTC), civil circuit, civil county, civil traffic (UTC), civil probate, civil family, and civil juvenile dependency.

Collections Report

• Performance Measure Standards • Circuit Criminal 9% • County Criminal 40% • Juvenile Delinquency 9% • Criminal Traffic 40% • Circuit Civil 90% • County Civil 90% • Civil Traffic 90% • Probate 90% • Family 75%

Collections Report

• Assessment control group (CGE): The total of all fines, fees, services charges, and other monetary penalties assessed during the given reporting period, i.e., CG 7/1/11 through 9/30/11, etc.

• Report Period Ending (RPE): Collections for each control group will be reported at the end of one year, i.e., the CG 7/1/11 RPE is 9/30/12.

• Reports due to Florida CCOC: Reports will be due quarterly, 20 days after each assessment control group has met the one year reporting period. 10/20 01/20 04/20 07/20

• Example of case type is Civil Traffic (TR)

Collections Report

• Explanation for (downward) Variances in Total Amount Assessed:

Multiple Elections allowed by Florida Statute• Elect a hearing – extends time to pay: case may be dismissed

without penalty or found guilty of a lessor offense. New law allows defendants up to 180 days to elect a hearing. (Effective 01/01/2013, FS 318.15)

• Show proof of compliance for vehicle defect citations (pays smaller fine than original charge)

• Show proof was valid at time of traffic violation; DL, Tag, Insurance (results in $10.00 dismissal fee)

Collections Report

• Explanation for (upward) Variances in Total Amount Assessed:

• Assessed statutory D6 late fee + $23.00• Assessed failure to attend defensive driving school

reversal fee +$18.00• Court Ordered Serious Bodily or Fatality mandatory

fines in addition to original fine + $500/$1000• .

Collections Report

• Effective ways we Increased Civil Traffic Collections:

1. Timely D6 unpaid traffic infractions – (31 days). 2. Timely transmit unpaid citations to your collection

agency- (90 days after D6 date).3. Eliminated automatic 60 day extension policy (2004).4. Timely report unpaid payment plans to collection

agency.

Collections Report• Weblink to Collection Business Rules:

• http://www.flccoc.org/Collections/Best%20Practices/COLLECTIONS_Business_Rules_070809.pdf