Texas Attorney General Opinion: JM-905 Page: 2 of 5
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Honorable Randall L. Sherrod - Page 2 (JM-905)
Article 45.54 of the Code of Criminal Procedure
provides in pertinent part:
(1) Upon conviction of the defendant of a
misdemeanor punishable by fine only, other
than a misdemeanor disposed of by Section
143A, Uniform Act Regulating Traffic on
Highways (Article 6701d, V.T.C.S.), the
justice may suspend the imposition of the
fine and defer final disposition of the case
for a period not to exceed 180 days.
(3) At the conclusion of the deferral
period, if the defendant presents satis-
factory evidence that he has complied with
the requirements imposed, the justice may
dismiss the complaint. Otherwise, the
justice may reduce the fine assessed or may
then impose the fine assessed. If the
complaint is dismissed, a special expense not
to exceed the amount of the fine assessed may
be imposed.
In Attorney General Opinion JM-526 (1986), it was
concluded that in an article 45.54 proceeding the court
costs are payable at the time of conviction rather than at
the end of the deferral period when the complaint is
dismissed. The opinion noted that an exception to that rule
was the "special expense" cost that section 3 authorizes "if
the complaint by express terms of the statute is dismissed."
A person must be convicted before article 45.54 is
applicable. A violation under 6701h is a finable violation
subject to the deferral of fine provisions of article 45.54.
Article 6701h provides for the collection of a fee of $75.00
at the time a person is convicted. There is no provision
for deferral of costs under article 45.54. Hence, costs are
collectable upon conviction.
In your second question you ask whether a justice court
may use fees collected under subsection (e), section IC of
article 6701h in the same manner that a prosecutor's office
is authorized to use funds collected under former articlep. 4470
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Texas. Attorney-General's Office. Texas Attorney General Opinion: JM-905, text, May 18, 1988; (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth273343/m1/2/: accessed May 6, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting UNT Libraries Government Documents Department.