State v. N. Cole

Summary

The Court affirmed Cole’s sentence, holding that a sentencing court may impose a mandatory minimum DUI fine and suspend the portion the defendant cannot pay after conducting the required ability-to-pay analysis. The Court harmonized the DUI penalty statute with the general sentencing and ability-to-pay provisions, concluding that Cole’s fine was legally imposed because he was ordered to pay nothing. The Court also overruled the prior holding that the comparable mandatory minimum DUI fine was facially unconstitutional, while preserving as-applied excessive-fines challenges.