If a fine or cost is assessed in your Municipal Court case, that amount is due when it is assessed. If you sign a Note and then fail to pay that Note on time, a pay or serve warrant may be issued.
Many cases are scheduled at the same time for arraignment court. A misdemeanor offense may seem minor in comparison to other criminal charges. Many people are able to pay fines and all these other assessments. Public defenders and assigned counsel represent most defendants, whose ability to pay these fees is largely illusory.
Penal Law § 60.35(5)(a). A Fine is a way to dispose of your case by paying money. The Eighth Amendment to the Constitution of the United States prohibits the imposition of excessive fines, but the Supreme Court has never found that any statutory fine violated that provision.
