Opinion
06-23-00251-CR
06-21-2024
PAULA DENISE DIXON HAWKINS, Appellant v. THE STATE OF TEXAS, Appellee
Do Not Publish
Submitted: June 20, 2024
On Appeal from the 188th District Court Gregg County, Texas Trial Court No. 53964-A
Before Stevens, C.J., van Cleef and Rambin, JJ.
MEMORANDUM OPINION
Scott E. Stevens Chief Justice
Paula Denise Dixon Hawkins pled guilty to felony injury to a child. See Tex. Penal Code Ann. § 22.04(f) (Supp.). After a bench trial on punishment, the trial court sentenced Hawkins to eight years' imprisonment and ordered her to pay $355.00 in court costs.
In companion cause numbers 06-23-00249-CR and 06-23-00250-CR, Hawkins appeals from two other convictions for felony injury to a child.
In her first point of error on appeal, Hawkins argues that the trial court's sentence is grossly disproportionate to her offense and constituted cruel and unusual punishment under the Eighth Amendment to the United States Constitution. For the same reasons stated in our opinion in cause number 06-23-00249-CR, we find this issue unpreserved.
In her last point of error, Hawkins argues that the trial court erred by assessing $355.00 in court costs in this case since the assessment is duplicative of the costs assessed in cause number 06-23-00249-CR. The State concedes the issue, and we agree that the duplicative costs must be deleted.
Article 102.073 of the Texas Code of Criminal Procedure states, "In a single criminal action in which a defendant is convicted of two or more offenses . . ., the court may assess each court cost or fee only once against the defendant." Tex. Code Crim. Proc. Ann. art. 102.073(a). The State's allegations of injury to a child in this case and in companion cause numbers 06-23-00249-CR and 06-23-00250-CR were consolidated for trial. As a result, Hawkins was convicted of this offense and two other offenses in the same criminal action. Because the same court costs imposed in this case were already assessed against Hawkins in companion cause number 06-23-00249-CR, we must delete the duplicative court costs in this case.
We modify the clerk's bill of costs and the trial court's judgment by deleting the duplicative court costs of $355.00. As modified, we affirm the trial court's judgment.