In The 

Court of Appeals 

Seventh District of Texas at Amarillo

No. 07-13-00180-CR 

ANTHONY G. HEREFORD, JR., APPELLANT 

 

V. 

 

THE STATE OF TEXAS, APPELLEE 

 

On Appeal from the 140th District Court 

Lubbock County, Texas 

Trial Court No. 2007-416,291, Honorable Jim Bob Darnell, Presiding 

 

November 3, 2014 

 

ORDER ON MOTION TO SET BAIL 

 

Before QUINN, C.J., and CAMPBELL and HANCOCK, JJ. 

Appellant, Anthony G. Hereford, Jr., has filed a motion in which he requests that 

this Court set reasonable bail pending final disposition of his appeal. We grant his 

motion.

Appellant appealed his conviction by jury of the offense of possession with intent 

to deliver a controlled substance. As a result of this conviction and the finding that two 

enhancements were true, appellant was sentenced to imprisonment for a period of 

seventy-five years.
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After concluding that the trial court committed reversible error in allowing the 

State to introduce impermissible hearsay statements in violation of the confrontation 

clause, we rendered judgment reversing the conviction and remanding the cause to the 

trial court. See Hereford v. State, No. 07-13-00180-CR, 2014 Tex. App. LEXIS 10073, 

at *22 (Tex. App.—Amarillo September 8, 2014, no pet.)

By his motion, appellant requests that this Court set bail at $50,000. The State 

filed a response to appellant's motion requesting that this Court set appellant's bail at a 

minimum of $50,000. 

We are authorized to set bail upon request by an appellant in the following 

circumstances:

If a conviction is reversed by a decision of a Court of Appeals, the 

defendant, if in custody, is entitled to release on reasonable bail, 

regardless of the length of term of imprisonment, pending final 

determination of an appeal by the state or the defendant on a motion for 

discretionary review. If the defendant requests bail before a petition for 

discretionary review has been filed, the Court of Appeals shall determine 

the amount of bail. If the defendant requests bail after a petition for 

discretionary review has been filed, the Court of Criminal Appeals shall 

determine the amount of bail. The sureties on the bail must be approved 

by the court where the trial was had. The defendant's right to release 

under this subsection attaches immediately on the issuance of the Court 

of Appeals' final ruling as defined by Tex. Cr. App. R. 209(c).

TEX. CODE CRIM. PROC. ANN. art. 44.04(h) (West 2006). 

So, having reversed appellant's conviction and having been requested to set bail 

at a time prior to the filing of a petition for discretionary review, we have authority to 

consider appellant's motion. While article 44.04(h) directs that the defendant be 

released on reasonable bail, it does not specify the factors we are to consider when 

determining the appropriate sum. Certain general rules govern the amount of bail to be 

required, which are as follows: 
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1. The bail shall be sufficiently high to give reasonable assurance that the 

undertaking will be complied with.

2. The power to require bail is not to be so used as to make it an 

 instrument of oppression.

3. The nature of the offense and the circumstances under which it was 

committed are to be considered.

4. The ability to make bail is to be regarded, and proof may be taken 

upon this point.

5. The future safety of a victim of the alleged offense and the community 

 shall be considered.

Id. art. 17.15 (West 2005).

To set a bail that is sufficiently high to give reasonable assurance that appellant 

will comply with the requirements that will arise in this proceeding, while avoiding setting 

bail so high that it might be oppressive, we must consider appellant's financial 

resources. See id. In his motion, appellant represents that he is currently incarcerated, 

is indigent but has help from family members to obtain money for bail and will be able to 

obtain employment once he is released. However, appellant admits that he did receive 

a settlement with the city regarding a prior lawsuit. He does not state the amount of that 

settlement and represents that it has already been spent.

Because the State has elected to not file a petition for discretionary review with 

the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals, our mandate will issue on November 24, 2014. 

Appellant's pretrial bail was originally set at $25,000 but later was increased to $50,000 

due to violations of the conditions on his bond. We believe that $50,000 is a reasonable 

bail amount. Considering the factors on which we have been provided information and 

endeavoring to strike a balance between ensuring appellant's presence and avoiding 

oppressive bail, we GRANT appellant's motion for reasonable bail pending final 
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determination of appeal and order that appellant be released from incarceration upon 

his posting bail of $50,000. See TEX. CODE CRIM. PROC. ANN. art. 44.04(h).

It is so ordered.

Per Curiam

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