P. v. Mattson
Defendant Brian James Mattson timely appeals from a judgment entered on his plea. He contends the trial court erred when it imposed (1) a probation report fee of $176 pursuant to Penal Code section 1203.1b and (2) a criminal justice administration fee of $340 (CJA fee) pursuant to Government Code sections 29550 et seq. At sentencing, defendant objected to imposition of both fees on the grounds that he did not have the ability to pay them. Nevertheless, the Attorney General argues defendant has forfeited his claims, but concedes that if the claims are not forfeited, the probation report fee was improperly imposed. As to the CJA fee, the Attorney General argues the fee is mandatory and requires no finding of ability to pay.
We find no forfeiture and accept the Attorney General’s concession as to the probation report fee. Therefore, we will remand the matter to the trial court for a determination of defendant’s ability to pay. With respect to the CJA fee, we decline to decide whether the fee is mandatory or discretionary, since the court neglected to identify the statutory authorization for the fee. However, since we are remanding the matter for an ability to pay determination, we will also direct the court to identify the statutory basis for the CJA fee and take into account defendant’s ability to pay, if appropriate, under the identified statute. We otherwise affirm.
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