Does the Attorney General have authority to simply waive attorney's fees for a defendant with the ability to pay?

The Attorney General argues that a trial court "has no authority to simply waive attorney's fees for a defendant with the ability to pay." While that may be correct, the court did not find that defendant has the ability to pay the attorney fees. Rather, the court concluded that it was compelled to impose the fees on defendant, apparently without regard to his ability to pay them. The probation report contains little information about defendant's ability to pay attorney fees, indicating that he is a 33 year old man without a high school diploma who has spent the last 15 years of his life either detained or on parole or probation. Since defendant's ability to pay the fees appears questionable, to say the least, we must remand the matter for a determination under section 987.8 of his ability to pay attorney fees. ( People v. Verduzco , supra, 210 Cal.App.4th 1406, 1420-1421, 149 Cal.Rptr.3d 200 ["If the attorney fees award is in error, remand is permissible for the purpose of determining whether the defendant has the ability to pay attorney fees."].)¹¹

[13 Cal.App.5th 500]