Criminal Practice – Restitution & Costs – Psychological Evaluation – Court-Ordered – Sentencing

State v. Nwanguma (Lawyers Weekly No. 012-044-16, 12 pp.) (Martha Geer, J.) Appealed from Durham County Superior Court (Robert Johnson, J.) N.C. App. Unpub.

Holding: Because the trial court ordered defendant’s psychological evaluation and the defense did not request it, the court could not require Indigent Defense Services to pay for the evaluation as a cost of the defense representation.

We vacate the IDS recoupment form requesting that defendant’s medical bill be paid as a cost incurred in the representation of defendant. On remand, if the trial court again chooses to order payment of the medical bill, it must do so in accordance with G.S. §§ 15A-1002(b) and 7A-314(d). We find no error in the length of defendant’s sentence.

Using its discretion, the trial court struck defendant’s original sentence – 20 days’ imprisonment, suspended, and 12 months’ probation – the same day that it was imposed because of doubts about defendant’s competency as a result of her mental breakdown before the probation intake officer. Upon determining that defendant was competent to stand trial, the trial court then chose to increase her sentence to 30 days’ imprisonment, suspended, and 24 months’ probation. Defendant did not preserve her double jeopardy argument for appellate review, and we decline to exercise our discretion under N.C. R. App. 2 to review this issue.