Court of Civil Appeals of Texas, 2014

Rene Olvera Lopez v. State

Rene Olvera Lopez v. State
Court of Civil Appeals of Texas · Decided April 30, 2014

Rene Olvera Lopez v. State

Opinion

In The Court of Appeals Sixth Appellate District of Texas at Texarkana

No. 06-13-00259-CR

RENE OLVERA LOPEZ, Appellant V. THE STATE OF TEXAS, Appellee

On Appeal from the 71st District Court Harrison County, Texas Trial Court No. 06-0155X

Before Morriss, C.J., Carter and Moseley, JJ.

Memorandum Opinion by Chief Justice Morriss MEMORANDUM OPINION Rene Olvera Lopez appeals from the final adjudication of his guilt for aggravated assault.

He raises a single issue on appeal that the trial court erred by nonetheless assessing $400.00 in attorney’s fees against him as an indigent. We agree, and modify the judgment to delete the award of attorney’s fees.

Court-appointed-attorney’s fees cannot be assessed against an indigent defendant unless there is proof and a finding that he is no longer indigent. Cates v. State, 402 S.W. 3d 250 (Tex. Crim. App. 2013); Mayer v State, 399 S.W.3d 552 (Tex. Crim. App. 2010). In this case, there is no such evidence or finding. The trial court thus erred by assessing attorney’s fees against Lopez. The proper remedy is to modify the judgment and remove the fee award. Cates, 402 S.W.3d at 252; Martin v. State, 405 S.W.3d 944, 947 (Tex. App.—Texarkana 2013, no pet.).

We modify the judgment of the trial court to delete the fees for Lopez’s court-appointed attorney. As modified, the trial court’s judgment is affirmed.

Josh R. Morriss, III Chief Justice Date Submitted: April 15, 2014 Date Decided: April 30, 2014 Do Not Publish

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