Federal Judiciary

People v. Cortez (Cal. Ct. App. - Nov. 10, 2010)

By Shaun Martin

"Octavio Reyes Cortez pleaded guilty to six counts of committing lewd acts upon a child (Pen. Code, § 288, subd. (a)), but appeals from the portion of his sentence which imposes a $30 'court facilities' fee on each of his six convictions."

Dude.  You've been convicted of six counts of child molestation.  The $180 fee -- which I'm sure you can't pay anyway -- is the least of your problems.

And yeah, yeah, I know.  It's an appointed appellate lawyer, and I'm sure it's better than filing a Wende brief that says "There's nothing here."  But still.  Part of me wonders whether we're really accomplishing much by spending $5000 on an appointed lawyer and a similar sum on the government side to fight over an $180 fee.

Which gets affirmed anyway.

Full post as published by California Appellate Report on November 10, 2010 (boomark / email).