"When, however, the trial judge imposes conditions `amounting to punishment' on the continuation of the entry of judgment, the judgment loses its character as a PJC and becomes a final judgment." State v. Brown, 110 N.C. App. 658, 659, 430 S.E.2d 433, 434 (1993) (citing Griffin, 246 N.C. at 683, 100 S.E.2d at 51). "Conditions `amounting to punishment' include fines and imprisonment. Conditions not `amounting to punishment' include `requirements to obey the law,' and a requirement to pay the costs of court."
"When, however, the trial judge imposes conditions ‘amounting to punishment’ on the continuation of the entry of [the] judgment, the judgment loses its character as a PJC and becomes a final judgment." State v. Brown , 110 N.C. App. 658, 659, 430 S.E.2d 433, 434 (1993) (citation omitted). We have held that fines and imprisonment terms constitute conditions "amounting to punishment," and transforming a PJC into a final judgment, while conditions requiring a defendant to "obey the law" and pay court costs do not cause such a change.
The trial court placed several explicit conditions upon the entry of the prayer for judgment continued. In State v. Brown, 110 N.C.App. 658, 430 S.E.2d 433 (1993), this Court set forth the circumstances where the entry of a prayer for judgment continued constituted “entry of judgment.” “When the prayer for judgment is continued there is no judgment-only a motion or prayer by the prosecuting officer for judgment.”
Absent a final judgment, there can be no sentence. See Barbour v. Scheidt , 246 N.C. 169, 97 S.E.2d 855, 857 (1957) (explaining that a verdict of prayer for judgment "is a mere suspending of active proceedings in the case," therefore without "an immediate sentence"); State v. Crook , 115 N.C. 760, 20 S.E. 513, 515 (1894) ; State v. Brown , 110 N.C.App. 658, 430 S.E.2d 433, 434 (1993). To be sure, "when the court enters an order continuing the prayer for judgment and at the same time imposes conditions amounting to punishment (fine or imprisonment) the order is in the nature of a final judgment," with an attendant sentence, "from which the defendant may appeal."
“Conditions not amounting to punishment include ... a requirement to pay the costs of court.” State v. Brown, 110 N.C.App. 658, 659, 430 S.E.2d 433, 434 (1993) (quotations and citation omitted). Under the community service program, “[a] fee of two hundred and fifty dollars shall be paid by all persons who participate in the program or receive services from the program staff.”
"Conditions not amounting to punishment include . . . a requirement to pay the costs of court." State v. Brown, 110 N.C. App. 658, 659, 430 S.E.2d 433, 434 (1993) (quotations and citation omitted). Under the community service program, "[a] fee of two hundred and fifty dollars shall be paid by all persons who participate in the program or receive services from the program staff."
We note that a PJC may convert into a final judgment where the trial court imposes conditions "amounting to a punishment," that is any condition beyond the payment of court costs or a requirement that the defendant obey the law. See State v. Griffin , 246 N.C. 680, 683, 100 S.E.2d 49, 51 (1957) (stating that a PJC converts to a final judgment in certain situations); see also State v. Crook , 115 N.C. 760, 764, 20 S.E. 513, 515 (1894) (holding that the payment of costs is not considered a punishment in criminal prosecutions); see also State v. Brown , 110 N.C. App. 658, 659-60, 430 S.E.2d 433, 434 (1993) (stating that a PJC does not convert to a final judgment where the trial court only imposes court costs or a condition to obey the law). In this case, the record shows that the trial court only ordered Defendant to pay costs; therefore, his 1999 PJC did not convert into a final judgment.
Here, the trial court did not continue prayer for judgment because it imposed community service requirements upon defendant pursuant to defendant's deferred prosecution agreement. See State v. Brown, 110 N.C. App. 658, 659, 430 S.E.2d 433, 434 (1993) ("When, however, the trial judge imposes conditions amounting to punishment on the continuation of the entry of judgment, the judgment loses its character as a PJC and becomes a final judgment." (internal quotation marks omitted)); State v. Popp, 197 N.C. App. 226, 228, 676 S.E.2d 613, 614 (2009) (holding "[c]onditions amounting to punishment" include fines and community service requirements (internal quotation marks omitted)).
We conclude that the imposition of these fees did not constitute punishment. See State v. Brown, 110 N.C.App. 658, 659, 430 S.E .2d 433, 434 (1993) (conditions constituting punishment include fines and imprisonment; conditions not constituting punishment include requirements to pay the costs of the court). Therefore, we conclude that the trial court did not err by imposing these fees outside of Defendant's presence.
"After a conviction or plea (guilty or nolo contendere), the court has power: (1) [t]o pronounce judgment and place it into immediate execution; (2) to pronounce judgment and suspend or stay its execution; (3) to continue prayer for judgment." State v. Griffin, 246 N.C. 680, 682, 100 S.E.2d 49, 50-51 (1957); see also State v. Thompson, 267 N.C. 653, 655, 148 S.E.2d 613, 615 (1966); State v. Brown, 110 N.C. App. 658, 659, 430 S.E.2d 433, 434 (1993); Florence v. Hiatt, 101 N.C. App. 539, 541, 400 S.E.2d 118, 120 (1991). "[W]hen the judgment is pronounced and its execution is stayed or suspended, 'such disposition of the cause does not serve to delay or defeat the defendant's right of appeal."