Melton v. State

SIMPSON, Judge.

Appeal is from an order of nolle prosequi upon motion of the solicitor, with the stipulation that defendant shall pay the costs of the case. The defendant, failing to pay the costs, was sentenced to 103 days hard labor, and appeals.

This purported judgment, we think, is totally void and inoperative. The law of costs and fees is penal and must be strictly construed. Cabler v. Mobile County, 230 Ala. 118, 119, 159 So. 692. Costs and fees can only be taxed when expressly provided by law. 1923 Code of Alabama, Section 3734; Bilbro v. Drakeford, 78 Ala. 318. There is no authority of…