Missouri Court of Appeals, Western District / Dec 11, 2018
State of Missouri vs. John B. Wright
Mr. John Wright appealed the denial of his motion to retax costs, which sought to remove a jail "board bill" from the costs assessed against him after he pleaded guilty to misdemeanor offenses. The State moved to dismiss the appeal on several procedural grounds, which the appellate court denied. The Western District reversed the trial court's judgment, holding that jail debt cannot be taxed as court costs because the relevant statutes provide an alternative collection mechanism and must be strictly construed.