Washington County, Tennessee Court Costs On The Rise

Washington County, Tennessee enacted the last of several new court costs this week. The county’s $10 booking fee follows a $40 litigation tax increase that took effect July 1st and a $12.50 public defender fee that took effect in March. The Washington County Commission approved all of these increases over the last several months. In all, criminal court costs have increased by $62.50 in the last four months. Meanwhile, civil court costs have jumped by $40 in that time.

The increase caught Chrystal Holderness off guard Thursday when she went to the Downtown Centre in Johnson City to pay her husband’s speeding ticket.

“How much did it go up?,“ Holderness asked the court clerks.

When they told her she had much more to say.

“It upset me because I would have liked to have known ahead of time,“ she said. “That’s more money out of my pocket that I didn’t realize I was going to have to pay.“

In the past, a speeding ticket used to cost $163 dollars. Now, the same ticket costs $225.50. So where is all of the extra money going?

Here’s the breakdown:

$25 will fund courthouse security improvements

$15 will help fund the county’s jail expansion project

$12.50 will fund a new public defender position

$10 will go to the jail for what’s called a booking fee

“It’d be more money that we can use elsewhere that we won’t have to go to the taxpayers that’s property owners to come up with their money to fund these things,“ County Mayor George Jaynes said.

Jaynes says the new court costs will help shift the tax burden from property owners. After all, he says the litigation tax alone is the equivalent of a three-cent property tax increase, but one not everyone has to pay.

“If they don’t want to pay that amount, then the best thing to do is not get in court,“ Jaynes said. “Don’t speed or get caught or anything like that or get any lawsuits, because they’re the ones that are going to have to foot this bill.“

That litigation tax increase affects both people in criminal and civil court. So whether you’re paying a speeding ticket, suing somebody, or filing for divorce, prepare to pay an extra $40 when you head to the court clerk’s office. If you have a criminal matter, expect to pay a little bit more too.