Many of you probably remember the “I’m Just a Bill” segment from the Schoolhouse Rock! series. It explained—through a musical number that will be stuck in your head all day—how a bill becomes a law. I didn’t compose a song, but in today’s post I’ll attempt to explain what actually happens to the thousands of civil judgments entered for various monetary obligations in criminal court.
First of all, which criminal monetary obligations may be docketed as a civil judgment? In my opinion, only those for which the General Assembly has expressly authorized the practice. As discussed here, there are different statutes for each type of obligation.
If a court orders a civil judgment in a manner not described in any of those statutes, it is presumably being done under some conception of the court’s inherent authority.
When does a judgment get docketed? Again, it depends on the type of obligation.
What process is due before docketing? At a minimum, we know that the defendant must receive notice and an opportunity to be heard before the court may impose any judgment for attorney fees or the $60 attorney appointment fee. Many cases have said so over the years, including one decided just last month. State v. Harris, __ N.C. App. __ (2017) (“The total hours and amount of attorney’s fees imposed—52 and $3,640.00, respectively—were not known at the time of the sentencing hearing, as Defendant’s counsel had not yet calculated the number of hours he had worked. Because there is no indication in the record that Defendant was notified of and given an opportunity to be heard regarding the appointed attorney’s total hours or the total amount of fees imposed, the imposition of attorney’s fees must be vacated.”) (internal quotations omitted). I am generally of the opinion that there must be some inquiry into a defendant’s ability to pay before he or she may be considered to be in default, which is a prerequisite to docketing a judgment for unpaid costs, fines, and penalties.
How long is a judgment valid? People sometimes say that all these civil judgments entered against defendants will tie them up financially for 10 years. At the risk of mansplaining (especially in an area outside of my field): well, actually, many judgments will hang around longer than that.
There are two statutes that come into play for criminal monetary obligations. The first is the 10-year limit on executing on a judgment. G.S. 1-306. The second is the 10-year limitation to sue on a judgment of any court, G.S. 1-47(1), sometimes referred to as “renewing” a judgment (although that is not technically correct, as my colleague Dona Lewandowski explains here). As to the second limitation, the general rule for judgments in favor of the State or its political subdivisions is nullum tempus occurrit regi—“time does not run against the king.” That common law doctrine is understood to exempt government entities from the running of a limitations period unless the relevant statute expressly says otherwise. See, e.g., City of Greensboro v. Morse, 197 N.C. App. 624 (2009). So, the 10-year limit for filing suit on the judgment will not apply to judgments in favor of government entities. The 10-year limit on execution does apply, but as it turns out no government entity is seeking to execute on any of these judgments in any event.
As to a judgment in favor of a private party (like CVRA restitution), there would be a 10-year limitation on execution, with the possibility of another 10 years for execution on any judgment the creditor might obtain pursuant to a suit on the initial judgment filed within the first 10 years.
Do judgments accrue interest? Some do, some don’t. It depends on the nature of the underlying monetary obligation. For those that do accrue interest, the rate is 8 percent per annum. G.S. 24-1. That is simple interest; it does not compound.
How do these judgments get satisfied? A judgment debtor could, of course, walk into the courthouse and satisfy it. That happens sometimes, although it is apparently not possible (or at least not easy) to tease out data on exactly how often.
A judgment creditor could seek to execute on the judgment (assuming that is done within the 10-year limitations period described above). I won’t go into the full process, but long story short, upon a judgment creditor’s request, the clerk could issue a writ of execution to the sheriff, who could levy on the debtor’s property—seizing it and selling it to satisfy the debt. As far as I know, no government entity goes down that path for monetary obligations arising out of a criminal case.
What about tax refunds and lottery winnings? An alternative way for government entities to collect on judgments is North Carolina’s debt setoff program, codified in G.S. Chapter 105A. Under the program, sums owed to a State or local agency can be garnished from the debtor’s state income tax refund. As things stand, however, the court system does not pursue most obligations through setoff debt procedures. Only attorney fees and the attorney appointment fee are routinely collected in that way (to the tune of about $4 million collected last fiscal year).
Agencies that participate in the Department of Revenue’s debt setoff program are also automatically enrolled in a similar program that intercepts certain lottery prizes. G.S. 18C-134. Again, Indigent Defense Services is the only arm of the Administrative Office of the Courts that participates, intercepting about $300,000 in lottery prize money last fiscal year to satisfy debts for attorney fees. Other obligations are not collected that way.
Artwork by Jason Whitley
