What are court fines and penalties?

Court fines and penalties are money you must pay as part of your punishment for your conviction, in addition to the rest of your sentence.[2157] The amount you have to pay will depend on the specific offense(s) you were convicted of, and the total amount you owe for other fines.

IMPORTANT: You may be charged multiple sets of fines and penalties for the same conviction, because the state and county can each fine you separately for the offense.[2158]

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  1. 2157

    Cal. Penal Code §§ 1202.4(a), 1464; Cal. Gov’t Code § 76000; see also Cal. Penal Code § 672 (court has discretion to impose fines in addition to imprisonment, even where no fine is provided by the statute of conviction).

  2. 2158

    Cal. Penal Code §§ 1202.4(a), 1464; Cal. Gov’t Code § 76000. The state can also charge additional fines for specific types of offenses. See Cal. Health & Safety Code § 11372.5(a) (drug offenses); Cal. Penal Code §§ 230.3 (sex offenses), 647.1 (prostitution and lewd conduct), 1202.5 (theft offenses); Cal. Veh. Code § 23645 (DUI offenses).