Opinion
No. 06-17-00029-CR
07-03-2017
TORRANCE CHRISTOPHER RAWLS, Appellant v. THE STATE OF TEXAS, Appellee
On Appeal from the 276th District Court Marion County, Texas
Trial Court No. F14520 Before Morriss, C.J., Moseley and Burgess, JJ.
MEMORANDUM OPINION
Torrance Christopher Rawls pled guilty to the offense of aggravated robbery and was placed on deferred adjudication community supervision for a period of ten years. Rawls' guilt was subsequently adjudicated, and he was sentenced to fifty years' confinement and was assessed $350.00 in attorney fees. The record demonstrates that Rawls is indigent. In a single point of error, Rawls contends that the trial court erred in ordering him to pay attorney fees for counsel appointed to represent him in the adjudication proceeding. The State concedes the error. Consequently, we modify the judgment to delete the assessment of attorney fees and affirm the judgment, as modified.
Pursuant to a plea bargain agreement, Rawls entered his guilty plea and pled true to one enhancement allegation.
Under Article 26.05(g) of the Texas Code of Criminal Procedure, a trial court has the authority to order the reimbursement of court-appointed attorney fees only if "the judge determines that a defendant has financial resources that enable him to offset in part or in whole the costs of the legal services provided . . . including any expenses and costs." TEX. CODE CRIM. PROC. ANN. art. 26.05(g) (West Supp. 2016). "[T]he defendant's financial resources and ability to pay are explicit critical elements in the trial court's determination of the propriety of ordering reimbursement of costs and fees" of legal services provided. Armstrong v. State, 340 S.W.3d 759, 765-66 (Tex. Crim. App. 2011) (quoting Mayer v. State, 309 S.W.3d 552, 556 (Tex. Crim. App. 2010)). There was no finding that Rawls is able to pay attorney fees. Because Rawls was indigent and is presumed to remain indigent absent record proof of a material change in his circumstances, the trial court was not authorized to order him to pay court-appointed attorney fees. See TEX. CODE CRIM. PROC. ANN. arts. 26.04(p), 26.05(g) (West Supp. 2016); See Cates v. State, 402 S.W.3d 250, 252 (Tex. Crim. App. 2013); see also Mayer v. State, 309 S.W.3d 552 (Tex. Crim. App. 2010); Martin v. State, 405 S.W.3d 944, 946-47 (Tex. App.—Texarkana 2013, no pet.).
We may modify the judgment and affirm in this situation. See Ferguson v. State, 435 S.W.3d 291, 294 (Tex. App.—Waco 2014, pet. struck) (comprehensively discussing appellate cases that have modified judgments). Accordingly, we modify the trial court's judgment by deleting the assessment of $350.00 for attorney fees from the judgment.
We affirm the judgment, as modified.
Bailey C. Moseley
Justice Date Submitted: June 30, 2017
Date Decided: July 3, 2017 Do Not Publish