Criminal defendants to pay fee

Criminal defendants will pay more to have their cases handled in Westmoreland County.

Clerk of Courts Bryan Kline said on Friday that an additional $11.50 will be assessed to defendants at the conclusion of their cases to pay for administrative costs.

The move, signed by President Judge Gary Caruso, will raise about $55,000 for the county. The money will be put in the county's general fund, Kline said.

The fee goes into effect on Aug. 1. It will pay for items such as postage, transportation and other administrative expenses.

“I don't think that burden should be put on the taxpayers,” Kline said.

The fee will be assessed on defendants who plead guilty or no contest to criminal charges in Common Pleas Court, are convicted at trial, or are enrolled in the Accelerated Rehabilitative Disposition and probation without verdict programs.

Last year, the Clerk of Courts Office processed nearly 4,900 cases that could have been impacted by the fee.

For years, the county was permitted to assess the additional fee under state law, but until now had not done so.

Kline said he researched the fee structure for criminal defendants and found that additional money could be assessed.

Rich Cholodofsky is a staff writer for Trib Total Media.