Commonwealth v. Hudson

The Superior Court ruled that the statute governing probation does not allow a court to make payment of court costs a condition of probation. It accordingly overturned a trial court decision that revoked the defendant’s probation and jailed him for his inability to pay costs, since that requirement was never valid in the first place. This makes costs distinct from fines and restitution in the probation context, since the statute governing probation does permit a court to make the payment of fines and restitution a condition of probation.