Opinion
NO. PD-0170-20
05-12-2021
KENNETH WATTS, Appellant v. THE STATE OF TEXAS
ON STATE'S PETITION FOR DISCRETIONARY REVIEW FROM THE FIFTH COURT OF APPEALS DALLAS COUNTY
Per curiam. YEARY, J., filed a dissenting opinion in which SLAUGHTER, J., joined. OPINION
Appellant was convicted of murder and sentenced to nineteen years in prison. The trial court conditionally assessed Appellant a $25 time payment fee if any part of a fine, courts costs, or restitution is paid on or after the 31st day after the date the judgment assessing the fine, court costs, or restitution is entered. See TEX. LOCAL GOV'T CODE § 133.103. On appeal, the Court of Appeals struck a portion of that fee as being unconstitutional. Watts v. State, No. 05-18-01092-CR, 2020 Tex. App. LEXIS 667 (Tex. App. - Dallas Jan. 23, 2020) (not designated for publication).
The State has filed a petition for discretionary review challenging the court's constitutional analysis. We recently handed down our opinion in Dulin v. State, Nos. PD-0856-19 & PD-0857-19, 2021 Tex. Crim. App. LEXIS 273 (Tex. Crim. App. Mar. 31, 2021), in which we held that the time payment fee was assessed prematurely because the pendency of appeal suspends the obligation to pay court costs. As a result, there was no need to reach the State's constitutional arguments.
We grant review on our own motion of the following ground:
Should the "Time Payment Fee" be struck as prematurely assessed? Addressing that ground in light of Dulin, we vacate the judgment of the Court of Appeals, and remand this case to the Court of Appeals for proceedings consistent with this opinion. The State's petition is refused. DELIVERED May 12, 2021 DO NOT PUBLISH