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Erickson v. State

State of Texas in the Fourteenth Court of Appeals
May 29, 2014
NO. 14-12-00767-CR (Tex. App. May. 29, 2014)

Opinion

NO. 14-12-00767-CR

05-29-2014

WILLIAM EDWARD ERICKSON, Appellant v. THE STATE OF TEXAS, Appellee


Affirmed and Memorandum Opinion on Remand filed May 29, 2014.

On Appeal from the 179th District Court

Harris County, Texas

Trial Court Cause No. 1286119


MEMORANDUM OPINION ON REMAND

Appellant William Edward Erickson appeals his conviction for murder. On original submission, appellant argued that there was insufficient evidence in the record to support the court's costs of $339 reflected in the judgment. We agreed and modified the trial court's judgment to delete the specific amount of costs assessed. Erickson v. State, No. 14-12-00767-CR; 2013 WL 6405476 (Tex. App.—Houston [14th Dist.] Dec. 5, 2013) vacated and remanded, No. PD-1709-13; 2014 WL 1512969 (Tex. Crim. App. Apr. 16, 2014). The Court of Criminal Appeals vacated our judgment and remanded in light of its opinion in Johnson v. State, 423 S.W.3d 385 (Tex. Crim. App. 2014).

The judgment includes an assessment of $339 in court costs. A supplemental clerk's record was filed, which contains a certified, signed bill of costs listing $339 in court costs. We review the assessment of court costs on appeal to determine if there is a basis for the costs, not to determine whether there was sufficient evidence offered at trial to prove each cost. Johnson v. State, 423 S.W.3d at 390. Traditional sufficiency-of-the-evidence standards of review do not apply. Id.

Generally, a bill of costs must (1) contain the items of cost, (2) be signed by the officer who charged the cost or the officer who is entitled to receive payment for the cost, and (3) be certified. Id. at 392-93; see Tex. Crim. Proc. Code Ann. arts. 103.001, 103.006. The record supports the assessment of costs in this case because the record contains a bill of costs that contains each item of cost, is signed by a representative of the district clerk's office who is entitled to receive payment of the costs, and is certified. See Johnson, 423 S.W.3d at 393.

The trial court assessed $339 in costs against appellant. The sum of the itemized costs in the cost bill is $339. There being no challenge to any specific cost or the basis for the assessment of such cost, the bill of costs supports the costs assessed in the judgment. Id. at 396. The fact that the bill of costs was not prepared until after the court signed the judgment does not defeat the lawfulness of the bill of costs. Id. at 394. ("[M]atters pertaining to the imposition of court costs need not be brought to the attention of the trial court, including a bill of costs prepared after a criminal trial.").

On remand, we affirm the trial court's judgment.

PER CURIAM Panel consists of Justices Boyce, Christopher, and Brown.
Do Not Publish — TEX. R. APP. P. 47.2(b).


Summaries of

Erickson v. State

State of Texas in the Fourteenth Court of Appeals
May 29, 2014
NO. 14-12-00767-CR (Tex. App. May. 29, 2014)
Case details for

Erickson v. State

Case Details

Full title:WILLIAM EDWARD ERICKSON, Appellant v. THE STATE OF TEXAS, Appellee

Court:State of Texas in the Fourteenth Court of Appeals

Date published: May 29, 2014

Citations

NO. 14-12-00767-CR (Tex. App. May. 29, 2014)

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Erickson v. Davis

On May 29, 2014, the state appellate court addressed the court costs question on remand. Erickson v. State ,…