The state is appealing a judge's ruling that taxpayers should cover more than $800,000 in legal fees and interest charges stemming from a criminal case that was dropped against former House Speaker Ray Sansom, R-Destin.

State attorneys filed a notice of appeal this month with the 1st District Court of Appeal, according to court records. The appeal focuses on a March 13 final judgment issued by Leon County Circuit Judge Angela Dempsey.

That judgment said the state should pay $692,797.50 in Sansom's legal fees and $117,677.98 in prejudgment interest, for a total of $810,475.48.

The notice of appeal does not provide details of legal arguments the state will make in the appeal. Sansom was driven out of office by allegations of wrongdoing involving a 2007 budget item that was supposed to pay for an emergency-operations center in Sansom's Northwest Florida district.

A criminal case was dropped in 2011. Dempsey found that Sansom and his attorneys should recover the money based on a common-law principle that public officials who successfully defend themselves against charges related to public duties are entitled to have their costs covered.