Opinion
NO. PD-1264-19
05-12-2021
D'WARREN LAMAR SIMMONS, Appellant v. THE STATE OF TEXAS
ON STATE'S AND APPELLANT'S PETITIONS FOR DISCRETIONARY REVIEW FROM THE WACO COURT OF APPEALS MCLENNAN COUNTY
Per curiam. YEARY, J., filed a dissenting opinion in which SLAUGHTER, J., joined. OPINION
Appellant was convicted of assault family violence with a prior conviction for assault family violence and sentenced to 75 years in prison. In the bill of costs, the trial court assessed Appellant a $25 time payment fee. See TEX. LOCAL GOV'T CODE § 133.103. On appeal, the Court of Appeals struck a portion of that fee as being unconstitutional. Simmons v. State, No. 10-18-00269-CR (Tex. App. - Waco Nov. 27, 2019).
The State has filed a petition for discretionary review arguing that the time payment fee was prematurely assessed. 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.
Accordingly, we grant ground one of the State's petition for discretionary review, 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 other ground is refused. Appellant's petition is also refused. DATE DELIVERED: May 12, 2021
DO NOT PUBLISH