AGO 1996-097.

• Case Date: January 17, 1996
• Court: Alabama

Alabama Attorney General Opinions 1996. AGO 1996-097. 1996-097January 17, 1996Honorable Frank Gregory Administrative Director of Courts State of Alabama Administrative Office of Courts 300 Dexter Avenue Montgomery, AL 36104-3741 Victims - Court Costs - Municipal Courts - Juvenile Courts No crime victims assessment is authorized for municipal ordinance violations regardless of the court of conviction.Dear Mr. Gregory: This opinion is issued in response to your request for an opinion from the Attorney General. QUESTION Do the provisions of _ 15-23-17, as amended by Act No. 95-494, require that a crime victims assessment be imposed upon conviction of a municipal ordinance violation? FACTS AND ANALYSIS Although Act No. 95-494 expressly makes the crime victims assessment applicable to "violations" in _ 15-23-17(b), the Act fails to specifically reference municipal ordinance violations as the type of "violation" this assessment is to apply. Since _ 15-23-17(a) relating to additional court costs for the Crime Victim's Compensation Commission clearly authorizes a municipal court to impose an additional $2 or $10 court cost for traffic and non-traffic cases, but _ 15-23-17(b) omits specific reference to municipal ordinances, it appears that the legislature did not intend the assessment authorized in _ 15-23-17(b) to apply to "violations" of municipal ordinances. Section 15-23-17(a) specifically provides that the additional court costs in that subsection are to apply to proceedings "for the violation of laws of the state or municipal ordinances which are tried in any court or tribunal in this state . . ." In comparison, _ 15-23-17(b) provides that...