Joseph Cordell Mouton v. State

Court of Appeals of Texas·Decided July 11, 2013·No. 01-12-00643-CR·Published

Opinion

Opinion issued July 11, 2013.

In The

Court of Appeals For The

First District of Texas ———————————— NO. 01-12-00642-CR NO. 01-12-00643-CR ——————————— JOSPEH CORDELL MOUTON, Appellant V. THE STATE OF TEXAS, Appellee

On Appeal from the 337th District Court Harris County, Texas Trial Court Case Nos. 1263241 and 1273691

MEMORANDUM OPINION Joseph Cordell Mouton pleaded guilty to evading arrest with a motor

vehicle1 and aggravated robbery. 2 The trial court assessed punishment at two

years’ confinement for evading arrest, and twelve years’ confinement for

aggravated robbery, with the sentences to run concurrently. In a single issue,

Mouton contends that the evidence is insufficient to support the trial court’s costs

assessments of $799 in the evading arrest case and $414 in the aggravated robbery

case.

Background

Mouton pleaded guilty to evading arrest with a motor vehicle and was

placed on two years’ deferred adjudication and assessed a $300 fine. Several

months later, he was indicted for aggravated robbery and pleaded guilty to that

charge. The State then filed a motion to adjudicate guilt in the evading arrest case;

Mouton pleaded true to the allegations in the motion. The trial court found Mouton

guilty of evading arrest and aggravated robbery, and assessed punishment of two

years’ confinement and a $300 fine for evading arrest and twelve years’

confinement for aggravated robbery, with the sentences to run concurrently. The

1 See TEX. PENAL CODE ANN. § 38.04(a) (West Supp. 2012); see also Act of May 7, 2009, 81st Leg., R.S., ch. 1400, § 4, 2009 Tex. Gen Laws 4385, 4386 (providing that offense is state jail felony if “actor uses a vehicle while the actor is in flight”). 2 See TEX. PENAL CODE ANN. § 29.03 (West 2011). 2 judgment in the evading arrest case assessed court costs of $799. The judgment in

the aggravated robbery case assessed court costs of $414.

In each appeal, Mouton filed a “designation of clerk’s record” in which he

requested the district clerk to include “[t]he bill of costs reflecting all fees and

costs assigned to Defendant post-conviction.” Neither clerk’s record originally

contained a bill of costs. After Mouton filed his brief, a supplemental clerk’s

record containing a “J.I.M.S. Cost Bill Assessment” was filed in the evading arrest

case. In the aggravated robbery case, we ordered the district clerk’s office to

supplement the record with a bill of costs. A supplemental clerk’s record

containing a “Criminal Bill of Costs” then was filed.

Court Costs

Mouton contends that, without a certified bill of costs as part of the record in

either case, the evidence is insufficient to support the court costs assessments. He

also asserts that the record contains “no other documentation or evidence” to

support the assessments of court costs recited in the judgments. He requests

reformation of each judgment to delete the court costs. 3 The State argues that

3 Mouton relies on Johnson v. State, 389 S.W.3d 513 (Tex. App.—Houston [14th Dist.] 2012, pet. granted). In Johnson, the Fourteenth Court of Appeals concluded that the trial court erred in ordering payment of costs in a specific amount absent support in the record for that amount. Id. at 516. The court also concluded that it could not presume the assessment of costs in the judgment was accurate “[i]n the face of a sufficiency challenge, an order to supplement the record, and a complete lack of evidence” to support the trial court’s assessment. Id. at 517. When ordered to supplement the record with a bill of costs or provide a certified statement that 3 Mouton’s claim is not ripe for review. The record in each cause has been

supplemented with a bill of costs that itemizes costs assessed against Mouton.4

A. Standard of review

Sufficient evidence must support an assessment of costs in a bill of costs or

in a judgment. See Mayer v. State, 309 S.W.3d 552, 554–56 (Tex. Crim. App.

2010) (holding that factual predicate for assessment of court costs included in bill

of costs must be supported by sufficient evidence); Thomas v. State, No. 01-12-

00487-CR, 2013 WL 1163980, at *3–4 (Tex. App.—Houston [1st Dist.] Mar. 21,

2013, no pet. h.) (holding that trial court record demonstrated facts and

circumstances sufficient to justify assessment of costs); Owen v. State, 352 S.W.3d

542, 547–48 (Tex. App.—Amarillo 2011, no pet.) (holding assessment of costs

authorized by statute and supported by record constitutes sufficient evidence). We

review the record in the light most favorable to the award in measuring the

sufficiency of the evidence to support an assessment of costs. See Mayer, 309

S.W.3d at 557.

no such bill existed in the case file, the district clerk initially filed an affidavit stating that the record in the case did not include a bill of costs. Id. at 515. The appellate court declined to consider a later-filed document that itemized costs. Id. at 515 n.1. 4 Mouton did not supplement, or request leave to supplement, his brief after the supplemental clerk’s records were filed and does not challenge any specific cost assessed against him. 4 B. Ripeness

The State asserts that Mouton’s complaint is not ripe for appellate review

because bills of costs had not been produced at the time of the parties’ briefs,

Mouton has not been asked to pay the costs and is not required to pay the court

costs until a bill of costs has been produced, and he failed to give the trial court an

opportunity to explain the assessed costs. See TEX. CODE CRIM. PROC. ANN. art.

103.001 (West 2006) (providing that cost is not payable by person charged until

bill of costs is produced or ready to be produced). The ripeness doctrine protects

against judicial interference until a decision has been formalized and its effects felt

in a concrete way by the challenging parties. State ex rel. Watkins v. Creuzot, 352

S.W.3d 493, 504 (Tex. Crim. App. 2011). To determine whether an issue is ripe for

adjudication, we evaluate “‘the fitness of the issues for judicial decision and the

hardship to the parties of withholding court consideration.’” Id. (quoting Abbott

Labs. v. Gardner, 387 U.S. 136, 149, 87 S. Ct. 1507, 1515 (1967), overruled on

other grounds by Califano v. Sanders, 430 U.S. 99, 97 S. Ct. 980 (1977)).

Our Court has previously considered and rejected the State’s arguments on

ripeness. See Nelson v. State, No. 01-11-01054-CR, 2013 WL 1858921, at *3 (Tex.

App.—Houston [1st Dist.] May 2, 2013, no pet. h.) (mem. op., not designated for

publication). The record in both appeals has been supplemented with a bill of costs.

A certified bill of costs imposes an obligation upon a criminal defendant to pay

5 court costs, regardless of whether that bill is incorporated by reference into the

written judgment. See id.; see also Johnson v. State, 389 S.W.3d 513, 516 (Tex.

App.—Houston [14th Dist.] 2012, pet. granted) (concluding that issue was ripe for

review because judgment ordered payment of costs “and could be acted upon in an

attempt to collect the specified amount”).

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