Case Name: Ex parte Rafael MINJARES, Jr.
Court: Texas Court of Criminal Appeals
Jurisdiction: Texas
Decision Date: 1978-04-12
Citations: 582 S.W.2d 105
Docket Number: No. 57136
Parties: Ex parte Rafael MINJARES, Jr.
Judges: Before ONION, P. J., and DOUGLAS and ODOM, JJ.
Reporter: South Western Reporter Second Series
Volume: 582
Pages: 105–111

Head Matter:
Ex parte Rafael MINJARES, Jr.
No. 57136.
Court of Criminal Appeals of Texas, Panel No. 2.
April 12, 1978.
Opinion on Rehearing March 23, 1979.
W. Stephen Hernsberger, El Paso, court appointed, for appellant.
Before ONION, P. J., and DOUGLAS and ODOM, JJ.

Opinion:
OPINION
DOUGLAS, Judge.
Rafael Minjares appeals from an order denying relief on his application for a writ of habeas corpus. On September 23, 1977, petitioner was convicted in the municipal court of El Paso upon his plea of guilty to seven traffic law violations. The court assessed the following fines and costs as punishment for petitioner's offenses:
No operator's license $202.50
No operator's license 202.50
Fraudulent use of vehicle registration 35.00
Negligent collision 35.00
No operator's license 110.00
No operator's license 202.50
Public intoxication 17.00
$804.50
Petitioner was ordered committed to the El Paso county jail in default of the fines adjudged against him. There he served sixty-two days of jail time, receiving credit toward his judgments at the rate of $5.00 per day, totaling $310.00. In addition, the sheriff of El Paso County, pursuant to V.A. T.S., Article 5118a, purported to commute one third of petitioner's sentence at the rate of $2.50 per day, totaling $155.00. On November 10,1977, petitioner filed his application for writ of habeas corpus alleging that he had satisfied the judgments against him and was entitled to be discharged.
He contends that the fines against him were intended by the municipal court to be concurrent, there being no recital in the judgments to the contrary. He reasons that he is entitled to be discharged inasmuch as he has served an amount of jail time sufficient to satisfy the largest of the concurrent fines assessed and that his credit for time served ($310.00) added to the credit awarded him by the sheriff for good conduct ($155.00) results in a total sum in excess of the largest judgment against him.
We conclude that petitioner is not entitled to the relief requested. Judgments in misdemeanor convictions imposing pecuniary fines as punishment have been held not concurrent but cumulative. In Ex parte Hall, 158 Tex.Cr.R. 646, 258 S.W.2d 806 (1953), a fine was assessed in seven eases. This Court held that the judgments against the defendants in each of the seven cases were independent of one another, that they could not be discharged concurrently, and that the defendant's satisfaction of the fine and costs in one of the seven judgments was not a satisfaction of the fine and costs in either or all of the other judgments. Accord Ex parte Williams, 133 Tex.Cr.R. 116, 109 S.W.2d 171 (1937); Ex parte Banks, 41 Tex.Cr.R. 201, 53 S.W. 688 (1899).
Were we to hold that the fines assessed by a municipal judge may run concurrently, a defendant such as petitioner would have a means of avoiding the satisfaction of many judgments by discharging the largest of the fines assessed against him. We decline to so hold.
V.A.T.S., Article 5118a, providing for commutation of jail time for good conduct, has no application to judgments of municipal courts wherein a pecuniary fine is assessed as punishment. The municipal court of an incorporated city, town, or village is empowered to assess fines as punishment. Article 45.06, V.A.C.C.P. Its criminal jurisdiction, however, is concurrent with the justice court in cases where punishment is by fine only and where such fines do not exceed $200.00. V.A.T.S., Articles 1195, 2385. The municipal court, therefore, has no jurisdiction to render judgment assessing jail time as punishment. It may order a defendant committed to jail only upon default of the payment of fines assessed against him. Article 45.06, supra; Articles 43.08 and 42.15, V.A.C.C.P. See Article 45.50, V.A.C.C.P., which provides for a specified portion of a fine to be paid at designated intervals. It may be used for people who are unable to pay all of the fines assessed. See also Ex parte Tate, 471 S.W.2d 404 (Tex.Cr.App.1971).
Article 5118a provides, in part, as follows:
"Commutation of time for good conduct, industry and obedience may be granted the inmates of each county jail by the sheriff in charge. A deduction in time not to exceed one third (V3) of the original sentence may be made from the term or terms of sentences when no charge of misconduct has been sustained against the prisoner." (Emphasis supplied).
Under the above provisions, the sheriff of each county may apply credit for good conduct against the sentence under which a defendant is incarcerated. We conclude that since there is only a judgment in a municipal court there is no "sentence" against which a sheriff may apply good conduct credit earned by a defendant incarcerated for failure to pay municipal fines. In the present case, petitioner was not jailed pursuant to a sentence. Hence, the sheriff of El Paso County had no capacity to grant petitioner good conduct credit. See Gardner v. State, 542 S.W.2d 127, 128 (Tex.Cr.App.1976).
The fact that petitioner served time in the county jail of El Paso, rather than in a city jail, does not entitle him to the same commutation of sentence for good conduct that is afforded county prisoners. The record reflects that the city and county of El Paso are parties to a contract whereby city prisoners may be held in the county jail. Such contracts for joint city-county use of jail facilities are specifically contemplated by V.A.T.S., Article 5115a. Under the provisions of Article 45.05, V.A.C.C.P., however, prisoners convicted before municipal courts must be held in accordance with applicable city ordinances. The fact that they are incarcerated in county facilities does not make such defendants county prisoners.
We conclude, therefore, that petitioner may not receive credit toward the satisfaction of his judgments for good conduct. We further conclude that he should be remanded to the custody of the Sheriff of El Paso County and held in the El Paso County jail in lieu of payment of the remaining fines assessed against him until such time as each and every judgment is discharged.
The order denying petitioner's relief under application for writ of habeas corpus is affirmed.
Before the Court en banc.