Commonwealth v. Lepre, 18 A.3d 1225

Lepre received speeding and expired registration citations on April 3, 2010.
Magisterial conviction for both offenses occurred May 25, 2010 with fines of $176 and $75.
Lepre appealed to the Bedford County Court and simultaneously filed IFP petitions for both appeals on June 10, 2010; total costs were $114.
IFP petitions alleged $1,600 monthly gross income, no assets, a child support obligation, $400 monthly rent, and about $85,000 in debt.
Trial court denied the IFP petitions without a hearing on June 14, 2010.
Lepre timely appealed the denial on July 7, 2010.

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument	Defendant's Argument	Held
Whether denial of IFP petitions without a hearing was proper	Lepre asserts entitlement to a hearing due to prima facie poverty and alleged inability to pay.	Commonwealth contends the court properly weighed income and assets without a hearing.	The denial without a hearing was improper; a hearing was required.
Whether Lepre pled a prima facie case of poverty supporting a hearing	Lepre pled substantial debt and living expenses with limited income.	Court weighed income against need; no hearing necessary.	Lepre pled a prima facie case of poverty triggering a hearing.
Whether the presence of an averred inability to pay requires a hearing	Lepre specifically averred inability to pay the costs.	Credit given to income figures; no explicit need for a hearing.	The averred inability to pay mandates a hearing when poverty is proven.

Crosby Square Apartments v. Henson, 666 A.2d 737 (Pa. Super. 1995) (hearing required when prima facie poverty and inability to pay are averred)
Amrhein v. Amrhein, 903 A.2d 17 (Pa. Super. 2006) (reversed denial without hearing when poverty and inability to pay were averred)
Commonwealth v. Tickel, 2 A.3d 1229 (Pa. Super. 2010) (limits on abuse of discretion in IFP determinations)
Commonwealth v. Cannon, 954 A.2d 1222 (Pa. Super. 2008) (civil indigency principles guide IFP determinations in criminal context)