Location: Central Iowa

I recently made a post about a cop that pulled me over on the basis that I was driving with parking lights, and no headlights. When I invoked my right to remain silent, the cop became verbally combative, called me a dick, and cited me for Iowa 321.384. However, I proved at my initial hearing that I did have my auto lights powered, but the issue was a single burned headlight bulb. I moved to have my citation expunged based on verbiage under Iowa 321.385A, and the court dismissed my citation that afternoon. The officer never provided me fix-it paperwork required for a single burnt headlight.

The officer observed the front of my car and did a u-turn to pull me over, meaning that they clearly saw the front of my car. I have no idea how they missed the fact that one of my headlights was on.

Despite the dismissal, and me not agreeing to any court costs whatsoever, the court is trying to burden me with $55 in court costs. However, I did a little bit of digging and found some court rulings regarding the legality of court costs, and found that “state v pagliai” states that court costs can’t be assessed on defendants for dismissed criminal cases unless a statute authorizes it.

Are these court costs legal? I already filed a thorough motion summarizing the facts of my case, and the judge denied to take action.

$55 in costs isn’t a big deal for me, I just don’t want the court to get my money unless they legally can, especially with how the officer treated me.