A person who pleads guilty to a criminal offense or is convicted after a trial will be sentenced to punishment by the judge who handled the proceedings. Judges have broad discretion in imposing sentences. These sentencing decisions are based on sentencing statutes and crime specific statutes, and plea bargains.

In imposing a sentence a judge may order the defendant to pay a fine within a set range of fines allowed by law for each offense the defendant is convicted of.

Unless otherwise stated by law, a sentencing judge can impose a maximum fine of:

• Misdemeanors: $1,000
• High and Aggravated Misdemeanors: $5,000
• Felonies: $100,000

Along with these base fines comes a surcharge imposed by statute, designed to benefit employees in the criminal justice system and victims of crime.

• Felony Supervision Fee ($50)
• County Drug Abuse Treatment and Education Fund (50%, no cap – drug and DUI cases only)
• Jail Construction and Staffing Act (10%, no cap)
• Peace Office, Prosecutor, Indigent Defense Funding Act (0%, $50 cap)
• Victim Assistance Fund (5%, no cap)
• DUI Victims Fund (11%, $26 cap – DUI cases only)
• Brain and Spinal Injuries (10%, no cap)

In this author’s experience, a defendant can estimate their expected total fines plus surcharges by taking their base fine and increasing it by 50%. For example, a $500 base fine may result in roughly $750 total costs.

Defendants may be permitted to satisfy the payments of fines by completing community service (typically at a rate of $10 per hour) or convert fines and fees to community service. Defendants are not permitted to simply pay off community service.

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If you or someone you know has been arrested, contact the law firm of W. Scott Smith at 404.581.0999 today for a free case evaluation. You’ll find a local Atlanta attorney ready to aggressively fight on your behalf. You can also find out more detailed information about Atlanta laws here.