What is the breakdown of how ‘court costs’ are spent? Where does the money go? Also, an addditonal $325.00 ’service fee’ is assessed to every DUI. Where does that money go and how is it spent? DUI education cost an additional $250, so it doesn’t apply to that. Are there any other traffic violations with additional penalties? Is DUI the leading cause of traffic accidents and deaths?

Legal research can be difficult and confusing. While I can’t give you exact legal advice, I can try to give you an introduction into its complexity.

Court costs are defined by state law. The cost depends on several factors, for instance, which court is involved or the type of charge. Court costs for a criminal case in the Circuit Court is $100.Court costs for a criminal case in the District Court is $100. A judge cannot arbitrarily assign costs, but state law details some exemptions. The use of the money that is collected in court costs is also defined by state law. For instance, from state law 231A.215: “Fees consisting of reimbursement for incidental direct outlays, including but not limited to postage and legal advertising, may be retained by the clerk and expended for these purposes in accordance with relevant directives of the Administrative Office of the Courts.”

So, you can see the answers to your questions are not easy to find. You can further research the state statutes at Kentucky Law.

As to the causes of fatal traffic accidents, Kentucky State Police reports in 2004, alcohol involvement was the third factor, behind Unknown and Lost Control.

–Lu-Ann

Filed under: Law