Texas Attorney General Opinion: LO97-074 Page: 1 of 3
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DAN MORALES
ATTORNEY GENERAL August 20, 1997
The Honorable James Warren Smith, Jr. Letter Opinion No. 97-074
Frio County Attorney
500 East San Antonio Street Re: Whether ajuvenile court may assess a fee for
Box 1 court costs pursuant to Family Code section
Pearsall, Texas 78061-3100 54.0411 in a modification of prior disposition
order when a modification hearing has been
waived (ID# 39338)
Dear Mr. Smith:
You ask whether a fee for court costs authorized under Family Code section 54.0411 may
be assessed in a modification of disposition order in certain circumstances. Based on the language
of section 54.0411, we conclude in the negative.
Section 54.03 of the Family Code provides for an adjudication hearing to determine whether
a child' has engaged in delinquent conduct" or conduct indicating a need for supervision.3 After the
adjudication hearing, a juvenile court ("court")4 must hold a separate and distinct disposition
hearing. Fam. Code 54.04(a). At the disposition hearing, a court must first determine that the
child is in need of rehabilitation, or the protection of the public or the child requires that disposition
be made. Id. 54.04(c). If the court so finds, the court may order the child to be placed on
probation or be committed to the Texas Youth Commission. Id. 54.04(d). Any disposition, other
than one which already committed the child to the commission, may be modified by a court after a
hearing on the petition to modify disposition. Id. 54.05(a), (d). A hearing must be held prior to
commitment to the commission as a modified disposition. Id. 54.05(h). In other disposition
'For purposes of title 3 of the Family Code, a "child" is a person who is "(A) ten years of age or older and under
17 years of age; or (B) seventeen years of age or older and under 18 years of age who is alleged or found to have
engaged in delinquent conduct or conduct indicating a need for supervision as a result of acts committed before
becoming 17 years of age." Fam. Code 51.02(2).
2See id. 51.03(a) (defining "delinquent conduct").
3See id. 51.03(b) (defining "conduct indicating a need for supervision").
4A juvenile court has exclusive jurisdiction of all proceedings under title 3 of the Family Code. Id. 51.04(a).
The term "disposition," in the juvenile area, replaces the term "sentence" or "punishment." Murphy v. State,
860 S.W.2d 639, 641 n.1 (Tex. App.--Fort Worth 1993, no writ); see also Attorney General Opinion DM-200 (1993)
at 2 n.3 (disposition parallels sentencing portion of criminal proceedings).
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Texas. Attorney-General's Office. Texas Attorney General Opinion: LO97-074, text, August 20, 1997; (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth277257/m1/1/: accessed April 24, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting UNT Libraries Government Documents Department.