In a felony trial I have gotten a note from the jury asking, "where does the money we order for a fine go?". What's the answer?

The answer to the jury is, "Please refer to your charge."

The money goes to the general fund of the state. I often tell jurors this in closing just after I tell them to forget about a fine because considering where and for how long the D is going he'll never be able to pay it anyway.

We did just refer them to the charge but I really posted the question more out of curiosity. The Judge made the comment (not on the record of course) that he thought it went to a special State road and bridge fund. Anybody got authority for where the money goes?

(not that I don't trust you Leonard)

In my counties the sheriff is to collect the fines assessed in accordance with sec. 112.051, Local Gov't Code. He then turns this money over to the county treasurer. See art. 103.004(a), CCP. She then places the money in the county's road and bridge fund pursuant to sec. 113.004(b), Local Gov't Code. So far as I know, the State government has no interest in fines. See Op.Atty.Gen. O-3092 and O-5681. In general, however, the "money" goes into the sheriff's report as an "uncollectable" entry. See also art. 43.03 and 43.07, CCP.

Isn't there a distinction between fines for Class C misdemeanors, Class A & B misdemeanors, and felonies?

Martin is correct -- 99% of criminal fines go to the local county, acc. to the executive director of the Governmental Collectors Assn. of Texas (who knew there was such a thing, eh?). A small minority of specific offense have fines dedicated to the state, but that is the exception, not the rule.

The general rule is the state gets court costs and the county gets fines (but there are numerous exceptions, of course). An easy way to remember the rule is that (state) court costs are uniform across the state, but (local) fines can vary from court to court.

Fascinating, huh? OK, not really, but it's always nice to learn something new ...

A few years ago, my then boss set a policy requiring a minimum fine of $2,500 for every felony offense. It took a couple of years, but now we see the rise in county collections. What kind of minimum fines do other offices set?

John, does that include those persons who are headed to the cubicles? Very often we ask for zero in those.

The fines are largely in probation cases. But, we do try to impose some fines on prison cases. We just make sure that payment of the fine on date of sentencing is a condition of the plea agreement. Defense counsel must show proof of ability to pay (big cashiers check) before sentencing takes place. On page 45 of the The Perfect Plea, there is a discussion of the problems associated with collecting fines on direct sentences.

Thanks for the authority on fines Martin. I was relieved to see that I was not the only one wondering about this.

Now, perhaps someone could explain to me why what is discussed above is not part of the law applicable to a case. It does not seem to me to be an argument calculated to arouse the sympathy or excite the passions of the jury. The jury at least vaguely knows what the effect of a prison sentence is on the public as well as the individual. Why should they not be entitled to know who or what benefits from any fine collected? Their task is to assess a proper punishment. Does not that mean all ramifications of their decision should be considered and weighed?

Like John, I'm interested in what other offices do re any type of minimum fines for various degrees of felonies. My commissioners are always much more amenable to a budget increase for my office if I can put a positive "economic" slant to my request. On first time felony offenders, our fines start out at around $1500. I'm thinking about bumping that up as well as setting a minimum fine for agreed pleas with an increasing scale as the degree of felony increases. What do y'all think?

I've had this note from jurors a number of times. Turns out in most of the cases they only wanted to assess the fine if it went to the victim. They thought maybe it was like damages in a civil case. Guess I need to do a better job of explaining fines during voir dire. My judge always refuses to answer the question. I am not sure why this information is relevant (would we answer a question if the jury asked which prison unit the defendant would go to?), but I also don't see why there would be any harm in answering it.

In my small, rural county the standard fine in probation or deferred adjudication cases is $500 for a misdemeanor and $1,000 for a felony. These amounts can go up or down depending on the facts and circumstances of the case. We are lucky to get the court costs paid on the date of sentencing!

I usually don't waste time talking about a fine during closing argument because I figure they'll never be paid anyway (That is, if they get the sentence I want them to get!). However, the only two times I recall telling the jury that I don't care if they assess a fine, I ended up getting verdicts with big fines along with the pen time. Go figure.

Our fines usually range from $1,000 to $2,500, depending on the offense, and usually only apply when the defendant gets probation. We don't hold out for fines to go along with recommended prison sentences.