Commission committee declines to endorse $12.50 criminal-court fee; lawmakers press on indigency rules

A plan to adopt a $12.50 charge for every defendant in criminal court proceedings — authorized by Tennessee Code Annotated §40-3-106 — failed to win a favorable committee recommendation after commissioners raised concerns about how ‘‘indigent’’ would be defined and whether the fee would burden low-income residents.

Jessica Indengaro, chief administrative officer for the district attorney’s office, told the committee the fee mirrors what public-defender offices have charged in some jurisdictions and that the district attorney intends to waive it for indigent people appearing in general sessions and criminal court. “This is a new fee in the amount of $12.50 for basically every defendant and any court that does criminal work,” Indengaro said, adding the statute allows wiping the charge in appropriate cases.

Commissioners pushed for detail about the administrative process for determining indigency and whether the funding would be used only for prosecutorial needs. “If they qualify for a public defender, then they’ll probably be considered indigent,” Indengaro said, describing existing court-based indigency forms used to request appointed counsel.

Several commissioners said the county’s low-income residents would feel even modest new charges. Commissioner Brooks said she was ‘‘hesitant’’ to add a discretionary charge that could affect poor households, while Commissioner Sugarman asked that the DA clarify what counts as indigent and how the money would be spent.

The committee recorded two yes, two no and one abstention and ultimately sent the measure forward without a favorable recommendation to the full commission. Indengaro told the committee the fee would be audited annually and that similar fees have been adopted by other judicial districts in Tennessee.

What’s next: the item will proceed to the full commission but without the committee’s endorsement. Questions remain about administrative rules for waivers and precisely which line items the new fee could support.