Del. Code 11, § 4104 : Crimes And Criminal Procedure — Fines, Costs, Penalties And Forfeitures — General Provisions — Fines, costs or restitution; how collected; holding operator's license as security for payment

Current through 2016 Legislative Session, Act 399

(a) When a court imposes a fine, costs or restitution upon a defendant, the court or justice of the peace may direct as follows:

(1) That the defendant pay the entire amount at the time sentence is imposed;

(2) That the defendant pay a specified portion of the fine, costs or restitution at designated periodic intervals, and in such case may direct that the fine, costs or restitution be remitted to a probation officer who shall report to the court, at such periods as the court may direct, any failure to comply with the orders; or

(3) Where the defendant is sentenced to a period of probation as well as fine, costs or restitution that payment of the fines, costs or restitution shall be a condition of the probation.

(b) Any court, including a justice of the peace, may, in its discretion, permit any person sentenced to pay a fine upon conviction of crime, in lieu of the payment of the fine ordered, to execute a bond acknowledging the amount of the fine imposed upon the person as a debt due and owing to this State and binding the person unto this State in an amount equal to 10 times the fine imposed. The bond shall be so conditioned that, should the amount of the fine imposed be paid to this State on or before the tenth day next following the day on which the fine is imposed, then in that event the bond shall be null and void. The bond shall contain a warrant of attorney authorizing the Prothonotary or any attorney of record in this State or elsewhere to appear in any court, including a justice of the peace, and confess judgment against the person so bound. Upon execution of the bond the convicted person shall be required to list on the reverse thereof all motor vehicles and real property owned by the person or in which the person has any title or interest with a description and the location thereof.

(c) Any court may, in its discretion, direct any person sentenced to pay a fine or restitution upon conviction of a crime, who is employed within this State or by a Delaware resident or employer, to execute an assignment of a specified periodic sum not to exceed 1/3 of the person's total earnings, which assignment shall direct the person's employer to withhold and remit that amount to this State up to the total of the fine, costs and restitution imposed.

An assignment of earnings executed in accordance with this subsection shall be binding upon an employer in the same manner as an attachment of wages pursuant to Title 10, except that an assignment need be filed only once with the employer who shall make the withholding and remittances until the full amount is paid. An amount of total earnings consistent with federal law may be assigned. An employer shall take no action against an employee who has executed an assignment, and the penalty imposed upon an employee solely because of an assignment under this subsection shall be in accordance with the manner set forth for attachments.

(d) For purposes of ensuring the payment of fines, restitution and the enforcement of any orders imposed under this section, the court shall retain jurisdiction over the convicted person until any fine or restitution imposed shall have been paid in full. The court may write off the fines, costs and restitution of any convicted person when the court receives evidence that such person is deceased.

(e) Whenever any person lawfully possessed of an operator's license theretofore issued to the person by the Division of Motor Vehicles of the Department of Transportation of the State, or under the laws of any other state or territory, or of the District of Columbia, shall be arrested and charged with any violation of the traffic or criminal laws of this State, or of any political subdivision thereof, a court, as a condition of sentencing, may take and hold, as security for the payment of any fine, costs, restitution or Victims Compensation Fund assessment, the operator's license so issued to the defendant.

(f) Any person whose operator's license has been deposited with a court,

pursuant to subsection (e) of this section above, shall be issued a receipt by

the court taking said license upon a form substantially as set forth in this

subsection, and thereafter said person shall be permitted to operate a motor

vehicle upon the highways of the State during the pendency of the case in

which the license was taken, unless the person's license or privilege to

operate a motor vehicle is otherwise revoked, suspended or cancelled.

FORM OF RECEIPT

The operator's license of .............., license number .............. is held by the .............. Court,

State of Delaware, as security for the payment of a fine, costs, restitution

or Victims Compensation Fund assessment in Case No........... . Please accept this

receipt as a substitute for that license as provided by Title 11, § 4104(e),

Delaware Code, as amended. Payment is due by ............. . This receipt is not valid

after said date. Failure to appear will result in license suspension. An

attempt to secure, or the securing of, a duplicate operator's license during

the period in which this court holds an operator's license shall be considered

as a contempt of court under 11 Del. C., § 1271(3).

.............................

Judge

(g) The clerk of the court in which the sentence was imposed and for which a person's license was taken as security, pursuant to subsection (e) of this section, shall immediately forward to the Division of Motor Vehicles of the State the license if the person fails to pay by the date indicated in the receipt as prescribed by subsection (f) of this section above. The Director of the Division of Motor Vehicles shall, upon receipt of a license so forwarded by the clerk, suspend the operator's license and driving privileges of the defaulting driver until notified by the court that payment of the fine, costs, restitution or Victims Compensation Fund assessment has been made. If the person be from another state or territory or the District of Columbia of the United States, the Director of the Division of Motor Vehicles shall further advise the motor vehicle administrator of the state, territory or the District of Columbia of this State's suspension and request that said person's license to drive be suspended until the fine, costs, restitution or Victims Compensation Fund assessment have been paid.

(h) The clerk of the court in which the sentence was imposed and for which a person's operator's license was taken as security, pursuant to subsection (e) of this section, shall immediately return the person's operator's license upon payment of the fine, costs, restitution or Victims Compensation Fund assessment within the period as prescribed by the sentencing judge and as reflected in the form set forth in subsection (f) of this section.

Del. C. § 4104

11 Del. C. 1953 § 4105; 57 Del. Laws, c. 198, § 2; 57 Del. Laws, c. 513, §§ 2, 3; 59 Del. Laws, c. 194, § 1; 59 Del. Laws, c. 269, § 1; 63 Del. Laws, c. 140, §1; 63 Del. Laws, c. 141, §§7, 8; 63 Del. Laws, c. 223, §§1 - 4; 70 Del. Laws, c. 186, § 1; 74 Del. Laws, c. 110, § 5.;