# The Attorney General of Texas April 14, 1981 MARK WHITE Anorney General Honorable Henry Wade Dallas District Attorney 6th Floor, Records Building Dallas, Texas 75202 Dear Mr.Wade: Opinion No. HW-322 Re: Collection of fines assessed in Dallas County Criminal Courts

You have requested cur opinion regarding the collection of fines assessed in the Dallas County Criminal Courts. You ask the following questions: 1.

2. Does the sheriff of Dallas County have the sole responsibility for the collection of all fines assessed inthe Dallas County Criminal Courts? If not, where &es this responsibility lie? Do the judges of the Dallas County Criminal Courts have the authority under the statutes creating these courts to order or direct that fines assessed inthese courts be paid to orcollected by the county clerk employeeswhoaretheclerksof said courts? Although anumber ofstatutes refer to the duties ofthe sheriff in the collection of fines, none of them place the responsibility for doing so exclusively on the sheriff. Article 1616,V.T.C.S., for example, provides in pertinent part:

An account shall be kept with the sheriff charging him with all judgments, fines, forfeitures and penalties, payable to and rendered inany court ofthe county, the collection of which he is by law made chargeable. See also Code ofCriminal Procedure arts. 43.01-.13. Other statutes obviously contemplate that the county clerk shall collect fines. Article 1946,V.T.C.S., provides that:

to] n the last day of each term of the county court, the clerk shall make a written statement showing all moneys received byhimforjury fees and fines.

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Article 1947,V.T.C.S., directs the clerk tar

pay to the county treasurer all jury fees and fines received by him to the useofthe county. The county criminal courts ofDallas County are possessed of: concurrent jurisdiction within the said county of all criminal matters and causes, original and appellate that isnow vested in the county courts having jurisdiction in civil and criminal cases under the Constitution and lawsofTexas. V.T.C.S. art. 1970-3110, SZ As part of their jurisdiction in criminal cases, county courts are authorized to impose fines. Article 42.15(a)ofthe CodeofCriminal Procedure provides that:



### [WI hen the defendant is fined, the judgment shall be that the defendant pay the amount ofthe fine and all costs to the state. (Emphasis addedl In our opinion, the court may, inaccordance with its authority to impose fines, direct that a defendant pay the amount of a fine to a particular officer acting onbehalf of the state. Since the statutes indicate that both the sheriff and county clerk have responsibilities in the collection of fines, we believe that the court is therefore authorized to direct a defendant to pay thenamount of the fine to either of those officers. Wenote, however, that only the sheriff isauthorized to enforce collection of a fiie es to which there has been adefault, even ifthe fine wasoriginally ordered paid to the county clerk. V.T.C.S. art. 1616. SUMMARY Both the sheriff and county clerk have responsibilities inthe collection of fines. Thejudges ofthe county criminal courts of Dallas County may direct a defendant to pay the amount of a fine to either the sheriff or the county clerk, acting on behalf ofthe state.

MARK WHITE Attorney General ofTexas JOHN W.FAINTER, JR. First Assistant Attorney General

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RICHARD E.GRAYIII Executive Assistant Attorney General Prepared byRick Gilpin Assistant Attorney General APPROVED: OPINION COMMmEE Susan L.Garrison, Chairman James Allison Jon Bible Rick Gilpin

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