State of Iowa v. Quinten Brice McMurry , 925 N.W.2d 592 ( 2019 )


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  •               IN THE SUPREME COURT OF IOWA
    No. 16–1722
    Filed March 29, 2019
    STATE OF IOWA,
    Appellee,
    vs.
    QUINTEN BRICE McMURRY,
    Appellant.
    On review from the Iowa Court of Appeals.
    Appeal from the Iowa District Court for Warren County, Kevin A.
    Parker, District Associate Judge.
    Defendant appeals from the judgment and sentence for the crime of
    making a false report and from revocation of probation. DECISION OF
    COURT OF APPEALS VACATED; DISTRICT COURT JUDGMENT AND
    SENTENCE      AFFIRMED      IN    PART,   REVERSED      IN     PART,   AND
    REMANDED.
    Mark C. Smith, State Appellate Defender (until withdrawal), and
    Melinda J. Nye, Assistant Appellate Defender, for appellant.
    Thomas J. Miller, Attorney General, Louis S. Sloven, Assistant
    Attorney General, Doug Eichholz, County Attorney, and Bobbier A.
    Cranston, Assistant County Attorney, for appellee.
    2
    CADY, Chief Justice.
    In this appeal, we primarily consider whether the district court
    properly assessed court costs and court-appointed attorney fees in the
    prosecution of a multicount trial information when one of the counts
    resulted in a conviction based on a plea of guilty and the other counts were
    dismissed. On our review, we explain and modify our rule relating to the
    equitable apportionment of fees and court costs in criminal cases and
    conclude the district court properly assessed all of the court costs in the
    case against the defendant.     We also hold that the amount of court-
    appointed attorney fees assessed against the defendant must be
    determined before the sentencing court determines the reasonable amount
    the defendant is able to pay. Accordingly, we vacate the decision of the
    court of appeals, affirm the judgment and sentence of the district court in
    part, reverse in part, and remand for resentencing on restitution for court-
    appointed attorney fees.
    I. Background Facts and Proceedings.
    Quinten McMurry was charged by a trial information filed on
    June 24, 2016, with the crimes of false report of an incendiary explosive
    device in violation of Iowa Code section 712.7 (2016), threats to place an
    incendiary or explosive device in violation of section 712.8, and
    harassment in violation of section 708.7(1) and (2). The charges stemmed
    from an incident on June 14, 2016, while McMurry was serving a term of
    probation imposed by a deferred judgment for the crimes of child
    endangerment and interference with official acts. On August 24, 2016,
    the State dismissed the harassment charge, and the case subsequently
    proceeded to trial on the false report and threats crimes.
    On the day of trial, McMurry reached a plea agreement with the
    State. The agreement required McMurry to enter into an Alford plea of
    3
    guilty to the false report charge, and the State would dismiss the threats
    charge. The plea agreement did not cover payment of court costs. The
    district court subsequently accepted the guilty plea.       McMurry also
    stipulated to the violation of his probation.
    McMurry appeared in court on October 3, 2016, for sentencing on
    the crime of making a false report and for a hearing on the revocation of
    probation. The district court sentenced him to a five-year indeterminate
    term of incarceration for the crime of false report and imposed a two-year
    indeterminate term of incarceration for the crimes of child endangerment
    and interference after revoking the deferred judgment. It ordered the two
    sentences to run consecutively. The district court then suspended the
    terms of incarceration and placed him on probation.          One term of
    probation required McMurry to reside at the Fort Des Moines Residential
    Facility. The court also ordered McMurry to pay restitution, including
    court costs and court-appointed attorney fees.      The provision in the
    sentencing order relating to restitution provided for the payment of “court
    costs in the amount” to be determined “(clerk to assess).” The provision
    relating to attorney fees included a finding by the sentencing court that
    McMurry had “the reasonable ability to pay” the fees and costs, but the
    amount of fees was left open for a later determination.
    Ten days following sentencing, the clerk of court issued a docket
    report. The report assessed court costs totaling $220, consisting of the
    trial information filing and docketing fee of $100 and three separate court
    reporter fees of $40 for the arraignment and bond review hearing, guilty
    plea hearing, and sentencing hearing.
    McMurry appealed from the judgment and sentence, and raised four
    claims of error.   First, he claimed his trial counsel was ineffective for
    allowing him to enter a plea of guilty to child endangerment without a
    4
    factual basis. Second, he claimed the district court erred in ordering him
    to complete the Fort Des Moines Residential Facility program as a term of
    probation. Third, he claimed the district court imposed an illegal sentence
    by ordering him to pay costs associated with counts of the trial information
    that were dismissed by the State. Finally, he claimed the district court
    erred in assessing court-appointed attorney fees before the amount of the
    fees was known.
    We transferred the case to the court of appeals. The court of appeals
    affirmed the judgment and sentence of the district court. It held that a
    factual basis supported the plea of guilty to child endangerment and that
    the district court did not abuse its discretion when imposing the terms of
    probation. It also held that the court costs assessed to McMurry were
    attributed to the count of conviction and declined to address the attorney-
    fee claim without a final determination of the total fees. McMurry sought,
    and we granted, further review.
    On further review, we vacate the decision of the court of appeals,
    but consider only two of the issues raised.      We consider whether the
    district court imposed an illegal sentence by failing to assess court costs
    proportionately between the count that resulted in the conviction and the
    two counts dismissed. We also consider whether the district court erred
    in assessing attorney fees before the amount had been determined. We
    otherwise agree with the court of appeals decision and summarily hold
    that the district court did not err in finding a factual basis to support
    McMurry’s plea of guilty to the crime of child endangerment and did not
    abuse its discretion in ordering placement at the Fort Des Moines
    Residential Facility as a term of probation.
    As to the issues considered on further review, we conclude the
    district court did not err in ordering McMurry to pay court costs, but erred
    5
    in finding he had the ability to pay attorney fees before the amount had
    been determined. Therefore, we vacate the decision of the court of appeals,
    reverse the sentence of the district court relating to the ability to pay, and
    remand the case for resentencing.
    II. Standard of Review.
    “We review the district court’s restitution order for errors of law.”
    State v. Petrie, 
    478 N.W.2d 620
    , 622 (Iowa 1991) (per curiam); see also
    State v. Jose, 
    636 N.W.2d 38
    , 43 (Iowa 2001). Through our review, we
    seek to “determine whether the court’s findings lack substantial
    evidentiary support, or whether the court has not properly applied the
    law.” State v. Bonstetter, 
    637 N.W.2d 161
    , 165 (Iowa 2001); see also State
    v. Driscoll, 
    839 N.W.2d 188
    , 190–91 (Iowa 2013).
    III. Court Costs.
    We first address the claim by McMurry that the district court
    imposed an illegal sentence by ordering him to pay the full amount of the
    court costs in the case. He claims the district court could only order him
    to pay one-third of the total costs of the three-count prosecution because
    the State dismissed two of the counts against him. He asserts the district
    court was required to apportion the total costs between the counts of
    conviction and the counts dismissed.
    We acknowledge that a sentencing order that imposes an obligation
    on a defendant to pay court costs not authorized by law would be illegal.
    See City of Cedar Rapids v. Linn County, 
    267 N.W.2d 673
    , 673 (Iowa 1978).
    However, the sentencing order in this case only ordered “court costs” to be
    paid by McMurry in an amount to be determined and assessed by the clerk
    of court. The order did not specifically direct McMurry to pay all court
    costs.     Thus, the sentencing order is not illegal on its face because
    McMurry was convicted and our law authorizes sentencing courts to order
    6
    court costs be paid by the offender. See Iowa Code § 910.2. Moreover, the
    sentencing court in this case never addressed or decided which court costs
    McMurry was required to pay. Instead, we presume the sentencing order
    only intended McMurry to pay those court costs authorized by law. Thus,
    the question in this case is whether the amount subsequently set forth in
    the docket report and assessed by the clerk of court complied with the law.
    Thus, we review the sentencing order together with the docket report from
    the clerk of court to determine if McMurry has been assessed court costs
    not authorized by law.
    A. Apportionment of Court Costs. Historically, the rule in Iowa
    that permits apportionment of court costs in civil cases has not been
    applied to criminal cases. State v. Basinger, 
    721 N.W.2d 783
    , 786 (Iowa
    2006). The rationale for this distinction is a judgment for the plaintiff in
    a civil case may not necessarily be an unsuccessful outcome for a
    defendant who was successful on part of the demand.           This general
    reasoning has supported equitable apportionment of costs between the
    parties. In a criminal case, however, a successful outcome traditionally
    has been viewed differently. State v. Belle, 
    92 Iowa 258
    , 260–61, 
    60 N.W. 525
    , 526 (1894). A criminal prosecution has been viewed as having two
    distinct outcomes—guilty or not guilty—and success has been defined for
    a defendant as not guilty. 
    Id. Notwithstanding, twenty-eight
    years ago in Petrie, we recognized a
    place for equitable apportionment of costs in criminal prosecutions
    involving multicount indictments or trial informations when some counts
    resulted in a conviction and others were 
    dismissed. 478 N.W.2d at 622
    .
    In Petrie, the defendant was charged by a three-count trial information
    with the crimes of driving while barred, possession of a controlled
    substance with intent to deliver, and being a habitual offender. 
    Id. at 621.
                                         7
    The State brought the charges after the defendant was stopped for
    violating a rule of the road while driving a vehicle. 
    Id. Police subsequently
    discovered marijuana in his vehicle. 
    Id. The defendant
    moved to suppress
    the marijuana as evidence at trial. The district court found the search of
    the vehicle was illegal and suppressed the evidence. 
    Id. A plea
    bargain
    subsequently led to a conviction for the charge of driving while barred and
    a dismissal of the other two counts. 
    Id. Based on
    those circumstances, we held the restitution order entered
    at sentencing in the case could only direct the defendant to pay those fees
    and costs attributable to the charge that resulted in the conviction. 
    Id. at 622.
    To apply this rule, we said (1) restitution for costs was limited to
    costs attributed to the count or counts of conviction, (2) restitution could
    not be ordered for costs attributed to dismissed counts, and (3) restitution
    for court costs not associated with any single count should be assessed
    proportionally between dismissed counts and the counts of conviction. 
    Id. Thus, we
    said the attorney fees associated with the suppression hearing
    could not be assessed against the defendant and the defendant should
    only be required to pay one-third of the costs.      
    Id. Court costs
    were
    apportioned in the same manner because they were not discrete to any
    single charge, and the defendant was convicted of one of the three counts.
    
    Id. McMurry relies
    on the rule in Petrie to support his claim in this case
    that he should only be responsible for one-third of the court costs.
    Since Petrie, we have not extended its holding beyond the
    prosecution of multicount cases resulting in a conviction for some counts
    and the dismissal of other counts. See State v. Klindt, 
    542 N.W.2d 553
    ,
    555–56 (Iowa 1996) (refusing to apply apportionment based on a
    conviction to a lesser included offense). Additionally, we refused to apply
    the rule to restitution other than fees and costs in the prosecution of a
    8
    multicount case resulting in a conviction for some counts and the
    dismissal of others in the absence of equitable circumstances supporting
    apportionment. State v. Moore, 
    500 N.W.2d 75
    , 76 (Iowa 1993) (refusing
    to apply the apportionment rule to restitution for money provided by the
    state to a cooperating witness to make three controlled drug purchases
    due to defendant’s failure to contest the criminal activity); see also 
    Belle, 92 Iowa at 261
    , 60 N.W. at 526 (refusing to apply the apportionment rule
    to court cost when the defendant was charged with murder but was
    ultimately convicted of a lesser offense).
    In applying the holding in Petrie in other cases, however, our court
    of appeals has observed a flaw in the application of the rule as it pertains
    to the apportionment of court costs not associated with any one charge.
    See, e.g., State v. Johnson, 
    887 N.W.2d 178
    , 182 (Iowa Ct. App. 2016). In
    Johnson, it observed that the dismissal of some counts in a multicount
    trial information does not automatically establish that a portion of the total
    court costs in the case is attributable to the dismissed counts. 
    Id. Instead, it
    observed that court costs are often the same in multicount prosecutions
    as in a single count prosecution. Id. Johnson, for example, involved a six-
    count prosecution that resulted in a conviction based on a plea of guilty
    to two of the counts and a dismissal of the remaining counts. 
    Id. at 180.
    The court costs in the case consisted of a filing fee, two service fees, and
    two court reporter fees for the plea hearing and sentencing. 
    Id. at 182
    &
    n.3. The total costs in the case were $210. 
    Id. at 182
    .
    While the Petrie rule would support apportionment of the total costs
    between the counts dismissed and the counts resulting in a conviction,
    the counts dismissed under the plea agreement in Johnson had no impact
    on the total costs in the case. See Iowa Code § 331.655(1)(a) (providing
    that the sheriff shall collect $15 for service and return of service); 
    id. 9 §
    602.8106(1)(a) (establishing a fixed $100 fee for “filing and docketing a
    criminal case” regardless of the number of charges within the case); 
    id. § 625.8(2)
    (setting a flat $40 fee for court reporter services per case no
    matter how many charges are included).          In other words, the four
    dismissed counts did not affect the amount of the filing and service fees
    that were a part of the court costs. Those costs would have been the same
    if the four dismissed counts had never been prosecuted. Additionally, the
    reporter fees for the guilty plea hearing and sentencing hearing that made
    up the remainder of the total court costs were attributed to the counts of
    conviction. Thus, the State uses Johnson to argue there is no justification
    to apportion court costs between the dismissed counts and the counts of
    conviction that would have been the same if the defendant had never been
    charged with the counts that were later dismissed. Other decisions by the
    court of appeals have made similar observations, which the State seizes
    upon to support its claim that costs in this case should not be apportioned.
    See, e.g., State v. Haywood, No. 17–1187, 
    2018 WL 3650328
    , at *2 (Iowa
    Ct. App. Aug. 1, 2018); State v. Smith, No. 15–2194, 
    2017 WL 108309
    , at
    *5 (Iowa Ct. App. Jan. 11, 2017); State v. Kemmerling, No. 16–0221, 
    2016 WL 5933408
    , at *1 n.1 (Iowa Ct. App. Oct. 12, 2016).
    We turn to address the issue presented by first looking to the
    primary statute governing restitution in criminal cases.       We do this
    because costs are generally taxable only when provided by statute. See
    City of Cedar 
    Rapids, 267 N.W.2d at 673
    . This restitution statute, Iowa
    Code section 910.2, requires “the sentencing court,” in all criminal cases
    following the entry of guilt or a special verdict upon which a judgment of
    conviction is entered, to order the offender to pay various forms of
    10
    restitution, including “court costs” and “court-appointed attorney fees.” 1
    For many of the enumerated forms of restitution, including court costs
    and court-appointed attorney fees, the statute requires the sentencing
    court to set the amount only “to the extent that the offender is reasonably
    able to pay.” 
    Id. The statute
    clearly provides for the taxation of court costs
    and fees to the offender, and the question turns on the manner in which
    the fees and costs are taxed.
    The State argues the statute only establishes restitution within the
    context of a criminal case, not counts within each case, which makes the
    defendant responsible for all fees and costs if any count results in a
    conviction. It asserts no apportionment should occur because a conviction
    in a case is what makes an offender responsible for all restitution under
    the statute, including fees and costs, and points to Basinger, 
    721 N.W.2d 1Iowa
      Code section 910.2(1) provides,
    In all criminal cases in which there is a plea of guilty, verdict of guilty, or
    special verdict upon which a judgment of conviction is rendered, the
    sentencing court shall order that restitution be made by each offender to
    the victims of the offender’s criminal activities, to the clerk of court for
    fines, penalties, surcharges, and, to the extent that the offender is
    reasonably able to pay, for crime victim assistance reimbursement,
    restitution to public agencies pursuant to section 321J.2, subsection 13,
    paragraph “b”, court costs including correctional fees approved pursuant
    to section 356.7, court-appointed attorney fees ordered pursuant to
    section 815.9, including the expense of a public defender, when applicable,
    contribution to a local anticrime organization, or restitution to the medical
    assistance program pursuant to chapter 249A. However, victims shall be
    paid in full before fines, penalties, and surcharges, crime victim
    compensation program reimbursement, public agencies, court costs
    including correctional fees approved pursuant to section 356.7, court-
    appointed attorney fees ordered pursuant to section 815.9, including the
    expenses of a public defender, contributions to a local anticrime
    organization, or the medical assistance program are paid. In structuring
    a plan of restitution, the court shall provide for payments in the following
    order of priority: victim, fines, penalties, and surcharges, crime victim
    compensation program reimbursement, public agencies, court costs
    including correctional fees approved pursuant to section 356.7, court-
    appointed attorney fees ordered pursuant to section 815.9, including the
    expense of a public defender, contribution to a local anticrime
    organization, and the medical assistance program.
    11
    at 786, and State v. McFarland, 
    721 N.W.2d 793
    , 794 (Iowa 2006), as
    examples in which we have applied the statute consistent with this
    approach.
    In Basinger, we rejected the apportionment of statutory jury and
    reporter fees among thirteen jointly tried 
    defendants. 721 N.W.2d at 786
    .
    Instead, we held such costs were taxed separately to each individual case
    because the prosecution was required to present evidence specific to each
    case, and the court reporter was required to record testimony specific to
    each case. 
    Id. Similarly, in
    McFarland, we applied the same one-fee-for-
    each-case approach involving a defendant convicted of eight counts arising
    from a trial involving three separate 
    cases. 721 N.W.2d at 794
    –95. We
    rejected the defendant’s claim that the fees and costs should have been
    apportioned among the three cases for the same reasons we expressed in
    Basinger.   
    Id. In both
    cases, we found restitution was based on the
    outcome of each case, but each holding was a response to claims by the
    defendants that the total costs should be apportioned among each case
    consolidated for trial instead of fully assessed separately to each case. See
    
    McFarland, 721 N.W.2d at 794
    –95; 
    Basinger, 721 N.W.2d at 786
    . Thus,
    these cases are not a rejection of apportionment among counts, but a
    rejection of apportionment of costs among separate cases tried together.
    While the governing statute relies on a “conviction” as the trigger for
    the sentencing court to impose the requirement on “each offender” to pay
    restitution “[i]n all criminal cases,” Iowa Code § 910.2, it is far from clear
    that the statute expresses the further legislative intent to exclude any
    equitable apportionment among counts within a case under any
    circumstances. Instead, it is fair to say that the statute is silent on the
    issue of apportionment of restitution in multicount prosecutions when one
    or more counts result in a conviction and other counts are dismissed. In
    12
    Petrie, we did not view this silence in the statute to foreclose the
    apportionment of costs and fees between counts that resulted in a
    conviction and those that were dismissed.         
    See 478 N.W.2d at 622
    .
    Instead, we supplemented the silence in the statute with a rule that
    permitted the court to apportion costs and fees or to direct the costs to be
    paid based on an agreement between the parties for the payment of fees
    and costs associated with the dismissed counts. See State v. Mootz, 
    808 N.W.2d 207
    , 221 (Iowa 2012) (indicating when a statute is silent on a
    matter and the gap was not intended by the legislature, we can carry out
    the legislative intent with a rule based on the purposes and policies of the
    statute   and    the    consequences      of   competing    interpretations).
    Consequently, the statute, supplemented by our caselaw, permits the
    apportionment of costs and fees in criminal cases.
    The State also launches a frontal attack on the holding in Petrie by
    asserting it is contrary to the traditional rule that does not recognize
    apportionment of costs in any criminal cases. Yet, this traditional rule did
    not develop in the context of a multicount criminal case we faced in Petrie
    but, instead, arose in the context of criminal cases in which costs followed
    the judgment without the need to consider apportionment because
    success under the judgment came down to either guilt or innocence. 
    Belle, 92 Iowa at 260
    –61, 60 N.W. at 526. The principle case, Belle, involved a
    verdict on a lesser included offense that did not support apportionment of
    costs based on an acquittal on the greater offense since the case still
    resulted in a verdict of guilt. 
    Id. In creating
    the bright-line rule in Belle,
    a potential distinction for cases involving multiple offenses was recognized
    but not used to frame a narrower rule. Id.; see also City of Cedar 
    Rapids, 267 N.W.2d at 674
    (indicating Belle recognized the distinction between
    single and multiple charges but declined to use the distinction to decide
    13
    the case on the narrow ground that it did not involve multiple counts).
    Yet, no equitable circumstances were present in Belle to drive a narrower
    rule. Petrie, of course, reversed this broad approach sub silentio and now
    sits alongside the restitution statute to govern the narrow application of
    equitable apportionment. 
    See 478 N.W.2d at 622
    .
    This background helps to explain the approach we took in Petrie, as
    well as the equitable exception we carved from the general rule that fees
    and costs are not apportioned in criminal cases. It reveals that success
    for defendants to criminal cases can include more than a complete
    acquittal when some counts of a multicount case are dismissed. It reveals
    that the particular circumstances of the case can make it equitable to
    apportion the costs and fees between those that are clearly attributed to
    the counts of conviction and those that are clearly attributed to the
    dismissed counts.    For example, in Petrie, all of the attorney fees in
    defending the case were not generally connected to the prosecution of the
    case. 
    Id. Instead, a
    portion of those fees connected to the suppression
    issues were clearly attributed to the dismissed drug count. 
    Id. Finally, the
    background also helps to reveal that equitable apportionment should
    not apply to costs and fees not specifically connected to a count that is
    dismissed or to one that results in a conviction. Instead, these costs and
    fees should be taxable to the offender.
    We conclude Petrie took a misstep when it apportioned fees and
    costs not clearly attributed to any single count. If costs and fees would
    have been incurred in the prosecution of a count of conviction even if the
    dismissed counts had not been prosecuted, equity does not support
    apportionment. In Petrie, the filing fee for the trial information was the
    same regardless of the number of counts or the fact that some of the
    14
    counts were dismissed.        Thus, no equitable basis existed to order the
    defendant to pay only one-third of these costs.
    Accordingly, the problem with Petrie is not the exception created to
    the general rule against apportionment in a criminal case, but the way the
    rule was articulated to permit apportionment of fees and costs not
    attributed to any single count. Apportionment must be based on equitable
    circumstances, and the portion of the fees and costs attributed to the
    dismissed count must relate to those circumstances.
    In this case, McMurry’s claim of error only relates to the assessment
    of the total court costs of $220. Yet, all these costs fall within the category
    of fees that would have been the same even if the dismissed counts would
    not have been prosecuted. The filing fee and the three court reporter fees
    were court costs associated with the charge that resulted in the conviction
    and were assessed properly against McMurry under Petrie, as modified by
    this case. As a result, we affirm the restitution order entered by the district
    court as assessed by the clerk of court on the ground that the costs were
    attributed to the count of conviction.
    B. Modification of Petrie. We continue to recognize the limited
    role of equitable apportionment of restitution in criminal cases involving
    multicount prosecutions.          It remains as important today as when
    recognized in Petrie in 1991. The taxation of court costs has a broad and
    significant impact on criminal offenders, and it is important that our rules
    relating to the assessment of these costs operate fairly and equitably.2
    2[T]hose   with lower socioeconomic status and in predominately
    minority communities are more likely to bear the burden of these direct
    and collateral costs.         This creates a contradictory effect that
    disproportionately penalizes citizens for their poverty or the community
    they live in, adding to their cumulative disadvantage, perpetuating a cycle
    of criminal justice involvement.
    15
    However, fees and costs should not be apportioned in multicount cases
    that result in both a conviction and a dismissal when the fees and costs
    would have been the same without the dismissed counts. We, accordingly,
    modify our rule in Petrie and disavow the language that fees and costs not
    associated with any one charge should be assessed proportionally between
    the counts dismissed and the counts of conviction. These fees and costs
    were properly assessed to McMurry.
    We emphasize that the role of the sentencing court in utilizing
    equitable apportionment of fees and costs under the restitution statute is
    predicated on equity. The rule is not hard and fast, nor time-consuming
    in its application. It rests within the sound discretion of the sentencing
    court and is applied to achieve justice, not precision. It is more easily
    applied to court costs than expenses like attorney fees, but its application
    to attorney fees can be examined in conjunction with the determination of
    the ability of an offender to pay such fees.             Finally, we reiterate the
    observation in Petrie that the parties are free to agree to the apportionment
    of fees and costs in a plea agreement. 
    See 478 N.W.2d at 622
    . Since
    apportionment of fees and costs is recognized in Iowa, the parties to a case
    may properly agree on the meaning of the equitable apportionment of those
    fees and costs in a case. Without an agreement, the sentencing court
    needs to identify the court costs at the sentencing hearing or a
    supplemental hearing so that the clerk of court can properly assess them.
    IV. Attorney Fees.
    Finally, we address the claim by McMurry that the district court
    erred by determining his reasonable ability to pay court-appointed
    Lily Gleicher & Caitlin DeLong, Ill. Crim. Justice Info. Auth., The Cost of Justice: The
    Impact of Criminal Justice Financial Obligations on Individuals and Families 2 (2018)
    (footnotes omitted).
    16
    attorney fees before the total amount of the fees was determined.                We
    recently addressed this issue in State v. Albright, ___ N.W.2d ___, ___ (Iowa
    2019), State v. Petty, ___ N.W.2d ___, ___ (Iowa 2019), and State v. Covel,
    ___ N.W.2d ___, ___ (Iowa 2019). In those cases, we held that a court shall
    not enter a final order of restitution until all items of restitution are before
    it and it has assessed the offender’s reasonable ability to pay certain items
    of restitution. 3 In the present case, the district court failed to determine
    whether McMurry had the reasonable ability to pay court-appointed
    attorney fees before entering a restitution amount on this item.                 In
    summary, it did not follow the statutory procedures as outlined in our
    recent case law. Accordingly, we reverse the sentencing order pertaining
    to the assessment of court-appointed attorney fees and remand the case
    for resentencing on restitution for court-appointed attorney fees.
    V. Conclusion.
    We affirm the district court on all issues raised on appeal except to
    remand the case for resentencing on restitution for court-appointed
    attorney fees.
    DECISION OF COURT OF APPEALS VACATED; DISTRICT COURT
    JUDGMENT AND SENTENCE AFFIRMED IN PART, REVERSED IN
    PART, AND REMANDED.
    All justices concur except McDonald, J., who takes no part.
    3Restitution   items requiring an “ability to pay” determination include
    crime victim assistance reimbursement, restitution to public agencies
    pursuant to section 321J.2, subsection 13, paragraph “b”, court costs
    including correctional fees approved pursuant to section 356.7, court-
    appointed attorney fees ordered pursuant to section 815.9, including the
    expense of a public defender, when applicable, contribution to a local
    anticrime organization, or restitution to the medical assistance program
    pursuant to chapter 249A.
    Iowa Code § 910.2.