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DAN MORALES
ATTORNEY GENERAL January 10, 1996
The Honorable David Brabhan Opinion No. DM-372
Gregg County Criminal District Attorney
101 East Methvin Street, Suite 333 Re: Whether a municipal court of record
Longview, Texas 75601 must impose court costs upon a juvenile
offender who participates in a teen court
program (RQ-761)
Dear Mr. Brabham:
You ask whether a municipal court of record must impose, upon a juvenile
offender who participates in a teen court program pursuant to Code of Criminal
Procedure (code) article 45.55, any court costs other than the ten-dollar administrative
fee that the court may impose under subsection (e) of that article. We believe that nothing
in article 45.55 negates a court's obligation or discretion to impose court costs that are
chargeable by other law, except that for offenses committed on or after
September 1, 1995, the court is not required to charge any other court costs, but it may do
SO.
You contend that the provision in subsection (e) for a maximum ten-dollar fee that
a justice or municipal court may require of a person who requests a teen court program
operates to exclude the imposition of any other court costs. The first sentence of
subsection (e) reads as follows: The justice or municipal court may require a person who
requests a teen court program to pay a fee -not to exceed $10 that is set by the court to
cover the costs of administering this article. The legislature thus expressed its intent that
the ten-dollar fee is to cover the administrative costs of a teen court program under article
45.55, not to cover other court costs. Article 45.55 is silent as to the imposition of other
court costs.
You further contend that this silence indicates legislative intent to disallow the
imposition of any other costs of court on a person who requests a teen court program
under article 45.55 because code article 45.54(1) expressly provides for the defendant's
payment of all court costs as a condition to the court's authority to defer proceedings
and grant probation under that article.' Your reasoning is that [i]f the Legislature had
lArticle 45.54(1) provides in pertinent part as follows: On a plea of guilty or nolo contendere
by a defendant or on a finding of guilt in a misdemeanor case punishable by fine only and payment of all
court costs, the justice may defer further proceedings without entering an adjudication of guilt and place
the defendant on probation for a period not to exceed 180 days.](ViewImageLocal?handle=hein.sag/sagtx0063&div=1&collection=&method=preview&ext=.png&size=3)