Ordinarily, a defendant must pay all fines, costs, penalties, and other financial obligations at the time the court orders them. MCL 600.4803(1); MCR 1.110. However, “[t]he court may provide for the amounts imposed under [MCL 769.1k] to be collected at any time.” MCL 769.1k(5). “The court shall order a specific date on which the penalties, fees, and costs are due and owing.” MCL 600.4803(1).
An individual who fails to satisfy in full a penalty, fee, or costs imposed by the court within 56 days after the amount was due is subject to a late penalty equal to 20 percent of the amount owed. MCL 600.4803(1).1 The court must inform an individual that a late penalty will be assessed if payment is not made within 56 days of the order. Id. The court may waive the late penalty upon request. Id.2
If the court permits delayed payment of the amount due or permits the individual to pay the amount in installments, the court must inform the individual of the date on which, or time schedule under which, the total or partial amount of the fees, costs, penalties, and other financial obligations is due. MCL 600.4803(1).
“The court may require the defendant to pay any fine, cost, or assessment ordered to be paid under [MCL 769.1k] by wage assignment.” MCL 769.1k(4).
“Except as otherwise provided by law, the court may apply payments received on behalf of a defendant that exceed the total of any fine, cost, fee, or other assessment imposed in the case to any fine, cost, fee, or assessment that the same defendant owes in any other case.” MCL 769.1k(6).]
Ability to pay. “The plain language of MCL 769.1k does not require the trial court to consider a defendant’s ability to pay before imposing discretionary costs and fees other than those for the expense for a court-appointed attorney.”3 People v Wallace, 284 Mich App 467, 469-470 (2009) (noting the Legislature has included such a requirement in other statutes but did not include it in MCL 769.1k).4
However, “[a] defendant must not be imprisoned, jailed, or incarcerated for the nonpayment of costs ordered under this section unless the court determines that the defendant has the resources to pay the ordered costs and has not made a good-faith effort to do so.” MCL 769.1k(10).5
1 The 20-percent penalty imposed under MCL 600.4803(1) is not usurious; nor does it violate the equal protection and due process clauses of the federal and state constitutions. People v Shenoskey, 320 Mich App 80, 86-87 (2017).
2 MCL 600.4803 “does not apply to a juvenile or a parent, guardian, or legal custodian of a juvenile within the jurisdiction of the court under . . . MCL 712A.2.” MCL 600.4803(3).
3 Costs of a court-appointed attorney are discussed in Section 8.8.
4 While MCL 769.1k has been amended since the decision in Wallace, explicit statutory language requiring the assessment of a defendant’s ability to pay has not been added.
5 See Section 8.4 for a discussion of ability to pay issues.