Boofer v. Lotz, 797 A.2d 1047 (Pa. Commw. Ct. 2002)

Cases | Boofer v. Lotz, 797 A.2d 1047 (Pa. Commw. Ct. 2002) | 2018

The Clerk of Courts for Butler County (clerk) sought $1,058.87 in unpaid costs, fines, and/or restitution from the defendant, who was incarcerated at the State Correctional Institution at Albion (SCI/Albion). Pursuant to the clerk’s request, SCI/Albion began forwarding 20 percent of the earnings in the defendant’s prison account to the clerk’s office. The defendant filed a writ of habeas corpus, challenging the withdrawals from his inmate account, but the trial court denied his challenge to the 20 percent deduction. On appeal, the court reversed the trial court’s decision. It found that defendant’s ability to pay the prescribed amount first should have been determined before the clerk could request 20 percent of his earnings. There neither had been hearing nor court order regarding the defendant’s ability to pay 20 percent of his earnings toward unpaid restitution and costs; the clerk had no legal basis for requesting the deduction from the defendant’s earnings. The trial court erred in failing to grant the defendant’s request to stop the deduction from his prison account.