Ex Parte McCurley

We granted the writ of certiorari directed to the Court of Criminal Appeals to review a question of first impression: whether monies paid as fine and costs imposed after pleas of guilty to criminal charges made pursuant to a statute subsequently determined, retroactively, to be unconstitutional in its application to defendant, must be refunded?

Petitioner, Lula Mae McCurley, pleaded guilty in 1978 to charges of sale of pentazocine hydrochloride (Talwin) in violation of the Alabama Uniform Controlled Substances Act, Code 1975, §§ 20-2-1, et seq. She received a five year suspended sentence and…