NCJ Number
87761
Journal
South Texas Law Journal Volume: 22 Issue: 2 Dated: (1981) Pages: 249-260
Date Published
1981
Length
12 pages
Annotation
A new Texas amendment virtually grants probation authority to justice of the peace and municipal courts in Class C misdemeanor cases (formerly only fines were allowed), and this is likely to create administrative problems for these courts.
Abstract
The new article 45.54 of the Texas Code of Criminal Procedure gives these courts probation authority without ever expressly referring to it as such. The article is applicable to all Class C misdemeanors except traffic offenses. The judge has discretion to suspend the imposition of a fine and defer final disposition for up to 180 days, and the judge may impose probation-like conditions to be performed during the deferral period. At the end of the deferral period, upon presentation of satisfactory evidence of compliance with the conditions, the judge has discretion to (1) dismiss the complaint and assess a special expense not to exceed $50, (2) reduce the assessed fine, or (3) impose the assessed fine. Even before passage of the article, the press of cases in the county courts has led to the filing in inferior courts of many cases that could have been charged as higher offenses. The new sentencing option may be expected to increase the activity of these courts further. The greater flexibility may increase the attractiveness of plea bargaining to reduce charges and to obtain the benefits of the deferral procedure in some cases, particularly theft. Greater use may be made of the Class C misdemeanor of passing a worthless check as a collection device. A greater workload and the additional burden of supervising court-ordered 'probation' will cause administrative problems for these courts. Financially, this may be alleviated by the 'special expense' fee in deferral cases. Fifty-five footnotes are provided.