Court Costs When Not Guilty 

Whether or not a defendant needs to pay court costs if they are found not guilty is dependant on many different things. Typically, if someone is found not guilty or if their case is dismissed, they will not have to pay court costs. There are though, many situations where this is not based on just whether or not a defendant is guilty. An example fo this is, a case can end without a conviction for the defendant even though they have been found guilty. In this situation they may wind up having to pay court costs, other fees and/or fines.

Court Costs

Court costs are fees for the expenses involved in running a courtroom for a trial. The court typically assigns these to an attorney or attorneys involved in a case. Very often, court costs are assigned to the attorney or attorneys for the losing side. Depending on the kind of case it is and the agreements an attorney and client have made in advance, an attorney may pass these costs on to their client.

The following are common court costs for a trial but different trials may have other fees not mentioned here and/or not all of these costs apply to all courts:

– Charges for serving summons

– Charges for serving subpenas

– Court reporter fees

– Court transcripts

– Other court documents

– Copying fees

– Exhibits

In some situations and if there is a statute for this, attorneys’ fees may be included in court costs.

At the end of a court case, the claimed court costs are included in a filed cost bill. If the losing party does not agree with these costs, they may be allowed to ask the judge to “tax costs” which means the costs will be reduced or disallowed. This typically results in a hearing at which the court determines which costs they will allow in and for what amounts the defendant is responsible.

Filing Fee

A filing fee is the money that is paid to a court to begin a case. The amount of money a filing fee is depends on the type of case a plaintiff is filing for, as well as the court that it is being filed in. Many cases and courts require additional filing fees at certain points during a case’s progression. The courtroom clerk that a case is filed in should be able to provide those involved in the case with a list of all the filing fees their case is going to incur.

Filing fees of some sort are usually required in court cases except in cases of domestic violence. As well, many courts do not require filing fees for family law cases involving matters such as, child custody, child support and child visitation.

Other Fees

In addition to court costs and filing fees, there are other fees one or both sides may have to pay. Depending on the particular court your case is being heard in, other fees may include but are not limited to:

– Service fee – what you pay to have someone served with papers of notification

– Witness fee- this is a fee for when a subpena calls a witness to testify

– Mediation fee- if a judge requires mediation, there is a fee for it

– Appeal fee- what you pay if you appeal a judge or jury’s decision

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