Navigating the legal system often involves understanding and managing various costs and payments, commonly referred to as “Court Money.” In Alaska, these financial obligations can arise from a range of situations, from traffic tickets to more serious criminal offenses. This guide provides a comprehensive overview of the different types of court money you might encounter in the Alaskan court system, how these costs are determined, and the various ways you can make payments. Whether you’re dealing with fines, fees, or electronic monitoring costs, understanding your financial responsibilities is crucial.
Electronic Monitoring Costs and Their Relation to Imprisonment
One specific aspect of court money involves the cost of electronic monitoring. This is particularly relevant for individuals sentenced for certain offenses, especially first-time DUI (Driving Under the Influence) or Refusal to Submit to a Chemical Test offenses that occurred between January 1, 2017, and July 9, 2019. During this period, Alaskan law (Senate Bill 91) mandated that first-time DUI or refusal sentences “shall” be served through electronic monitoring at a private residence, if available. This monitoring was considered a form of “cost of imprisonment,” and defendants were required to directly pay the court for this service.
Understanding court money obligations often includes costs associated with electronic monitoring devices, especially for certain offenses in Alaska.
This legislation meant that if you were sentenced for a first-time DUI or refusal offense within this timeframe, the payments you made for electronic monitoring were directly credited against the “Cost of Imprisonment” listed on your original judgment. It’s important to note that while this specific provision requiring electronic monitoring for first-time offenses was eliminated effective July 9, 2019, by House Bill 49, the concept of electronic monitoring costs remains relevant in other contexts.
For offenses outside this specific DUI/refusal scenario, or for sentences issued after July 9, 2019, electronic monitoring might still be an option. If the Department of Corrections or the court approves electronic monitoring as a way to serve a jail sentence for other offenses – including subsequent DUI or refusal offenses – you are generally required to pay the electronic monitoring fees directly to the Department of Corrections’ electronic monitoring office.
To clarify whether your electronic monitoring fee can be credited towards the Cost of Imprisonment in your specific case, it’s essential to contact your local Clerk’s Office. They can provide guidance based on the specifics of your sentence and offense.
Other Court-Related Costs Payable to Different Agencies
Beyond electronic monitoring, numerous other types of court money exist, and it’s crucial to understand where these payments should be directed. Some costs are not paid directly to the court but to other agencies. These include:
- Jail Surcharge: This is an additional fee associated with jail sentences.
- Cost of Imprisonment: As mentioned, this can sometimes be offset by electronic monitoring payments, but otherwise, it’s a separate cost.
- Cost of Appointed Counsel: If the court appoints a lawyer to represent you, you may be required to pay for these legal services.
- Forfeited Unsecured Bond: If you fail to appear in court after posting an unsecured bond, you may forfeit this amount.
- Restitution Due to the Municipality of Anchorage: Restitution payments specifically owed to the Municipality of Anchorage.
- Delinquent Fines & Surcharges: Fines and surcharges not paid by their due date are often transferred to collection agencies.
Understanding where to direct your court money is essential; some payments are made to collection agencies rather than directly to the court.
To determine if you have costs that have been transferred to a collection agency, you can use the CourtView online system for Criminal, Underage Consuming, and Minor Offense Cases. By searching for your case number or name and clicking the green “Pay” button, you can find information about outstanding payments and collection agency details. For Civil, Probate, Adoption, Delinquency, or Child in Need of Aid Cases, online payment for costs is typically not available. Restitution payments in these cases are made through the court’s Restitution Unit, and appointed counsel fees are often paid through designated collection agencies like Reliant Capital Solutions, LLC. Similarly, Post-Conviction Relief Case costs are not payable online, and appointed counsel fees are paid to the collection agency specified on the Judgment for Cost of Appointed Counsel, which could be for the State of Alaska, Municipality, or City.
Fines, Surcharges, and Costs in Criminal and Underage Alcohol Cases
For criminal cases and cases involving underage alcohol offenses, you may need to pay fines, surcharges, restitution, and other costs. Payments can often be made online, by mail, or in person at any court location in Alaska. However, it’s critical to first check if any of your costs have been transferred to a collection agency or must be paid to another specific agency, as outlined earlier.
The Alaskan Court System provides an online payment portal for making payments directly to the court. This system is designed to be secure, protecting your identity and financial information during transactions. Upon payment, transactions are posted to your credit card account, and an electronic receipt is emailed to you for record-keeping.
Motion to Modify Fees
Another instance where you might need to pay court money is when filing a Motion to Modify, particularly concerning child custody, visitation, support, spousal maintenance, or property allocation. Upon notification from the court that you owe a filing fee for such a motion, you can typically pay this fee online, by mail, or in person. This ensures that your motion is properly processed by the court.
Traffic Tickets and Minor Offenses: Understanding Your Payment Options
Dealing with traffic tickets and other minor offense tickets also involves understanding court money. For certain serious tickets, such as those for criminal offenses or Under 21 Refusal/Driving Offenses, a mandatory court appearance is required. Failure to appear may result in an arrest warrant.
For “optional court appearance” tickets that are payable to the court, you generally have 30 days to respond. Your options include:
- Pleading “No Contest” and paying the fine and surcharge. This option means you give up certain rights.
- Requesting a trial by pleading “Not Guilty.”
- Requesting a hearing to have a judge explain the charges and your rights before entering a plea.
Understanding your options for paying court money, including online, mail, and in-person methods, is crucial for resolving legal obligations.
Similarly, for “correctable offenses,” you have 30 days to either show proof of correction, pay the ticket, request a trial by pleading “Not Guilty,” or request a hearing to understand your charges and rights before entering a plea. For tickets requiring a mandatory court appearance, online payment is not possible until after your court appearance.
If you are unable to find your ticket listed in the CourtView system, there could be several reasons. It’s important to verify that you’ve entered your name or ticket number correctly as it appears on the ticket. Also, check if the ticket is payable to the court or directly to the city that issued it. It’s also possible that the ticket has not yet been officially filed with the court system; in such cases, checking back after a few days or mailing your plea and payment might be necessary. Notably, cases involving Minor Consuming, Possessing, Controlling, or On Premises Offenses from October 4, 2016, onwards are generally not published online due to privacy statutes.
City Tickets: Direct Payments to Municipalities
It’s important to distinguish between tickets payable to the court and those payable directly to specific cities. Tickets issued by certain city police departments, such as Anchorage and Fairbanks Police Departments, and parking tickets from Anchorage and Fairbanks Parking Authorities, must be paid directly to the respective city or authority. A list of cities requiring direct payment is provided, including Cordova, Craig, Juneau, Kenai, Ketchikan, Petersburg, Sitka, and Wrangell. If your ticket was issued by one of these listed cities, payment should not be made to the court but to the designated city office. For tickets issued by other cities not on this list, payment is typically made to the court.
Records Request Fees
Finally, accessing court records and audio recordings may also involve court money in the form of records request fees. To pay for copy costs online, you will receive instructions from the clerk, including a specific case number ending in “CCEPAY.” This ensures that your payment is correctly applied to your records request.
Methods to Make Payments to the Court
The Alaskan Court System offers multiple convenient methods to pay court money:
- Pay Online: The online payment portal allows for secure payments using credit cards. It’s recommended to use Internet Explorer for optimal compatibility.
- Pay by Mail: Payments can be mailed via check or money order to the court where your case was filed. Checks and money orders should be made payable to “State of Alaska” and include your case or ticket number.
- Pay in Person: In-person payments with cash, personal checks, or money orders are accepted at any court location in Alaska. Again, ensure checks and money orders are payable to “State of Alaska” and include your case or ticket number.
Multiple court locations throughout Alaska provide options for in-person payments of court money.
Credit card payments are accepted at authorized courts, including Anchorage, Bethel, Dillingham, Fairbanks, Homer, Juneau, Kenai, Ketchikan, Kodiak, Nome, Palmer, Petersburg, Prince of Wales, Sitka, Utqiagvik, and Wrangell, for various costs. These include filing fees, copy costs, writ of execution costs, certified mail service costs, and various criminal, underage alcohol, and minor offense case costs such as fines, surcharges, restitution, jail surcharges, appointed counsel costs, cost of imprisonment, and electronic monitoring costs. However, certain payments like appeal bonds, civil deposits, civil judgment payments, supersedeas bonds, and trust deposits cannot be paid by credit card.
Understanding the different types of court money and the appropriate payment methods is essential for fulfilling your legal obligations within the Alaskan court system. Always refer to your specific court documents and contact the Clerk’s Office if you have any questions regarding your financial responsibilities to the court.
