Two questions please:

QUESTION NO. 1. If a person who is currently under terms of community supervision fails to timely make payments towards their assessed fines and court costs while still on probation, may a trial court use the capias pro fine process under CCP Art. 43 to arrest and confine the probationer for failure to timely make payments?

OR, is revocation / modification of the person's probation the trial court's only remedy for a person's failure to timely make payments towards their assessed fines and court costs?


QUESTION NO. 2: As I understand, when a person is put onto community supervision under Art. 42.12, the person is sentenced and then the imposition of the sentence is suspended for the period of the probation. However, the person has still be sentenced by the court. CCP Art. 43.03 discusses enforcement of payment of fines and court costs "if a defendant is sentenced to pay a fine or costs or both and the defendant defaults in payment..."

Assume that (1) a person is put under terms of community supervision that require the person to pay a fine and court costs and (2) the person's probation term ends without the fines / costs being completely paid OR without a MTR being filed.

After the community supervision period has ended (and the trial court no longer has authority under Art. 42.12), may the trial court use the capias pro fine enforcement procedure under CCP Art. 43 to seek payment from and/or confine a person for non-payment of the fines / costs assessed either under the (1) suspended sentence; or (2) under the community supervision terms.

try Art.s 45.045 & 45.046

CCP Art. 45 applies to JP and municipal court jurisdiction. I don't think either 45.045 or 45.046 are applicable.

My questions apply to cases before district and county court-at-law courts.

seems to me...and not claiming to be any authority here... that 43.01, et. al. would not apply if you are sentenced to probation as it only applies when your sentence is "for fine and costs."

when is this going to apply? we either sentence to jail, probation, or pro forma probation (appeals from JP court). in the probation cases, it seems 42.12 is going to control. in the jail and pro forma class C's, when we go after unpaid fines, it's as a show cause (contempt).

are there counties who would say give a class B DWI defendant a fine only and let him walk out of court with the good faith that he'll pay when he says and without supervision? maybe...i guess. then perhaps that's where this chapter 43 applies.

again...no expert