Texas Attorney General Opinion: GA-0593 Page: 1 of 7
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ATTORNEY GENERAL OF TEXAS
GREG ABBOTT
January 17, 2008The Honorable Jesusa Sanchez-Vera
Jim Wells County Attorney
Post Office Drawer 2080
Alice, Texas 78333Opinion No. GA-0593
Re: Court's authority to modify the conditions of
probation to allow probationers to pay a fee in lieu
of community service hours not performed
(RQ-0604-GA)Dear Ms. Sanchez-Vera:
You ask on behalf of the Judge of the 79th Judicial District Court about a court's authority
to modify the conditions of probation to allow a probationer to pay a fee in lieu of community
service hours not performed.' The judge of that court informed you that the Jim Wells Community
Supervision and Corrections Department (the "CSCD") had asked him to "allow for the modification
of the conditions of probation to permit certain qualified probationers to pay a set fee per hour
(suggested minimum wage of $5.15) for community service hours not performed."2 The judge
observed that a community service requirement may "create an economic hardship on probationers
that may result in the loss of valued employment," but questioned whether a court has authority to
substitute payment of a fee in lieu of community service. Judge Terrell Letter, supra note 2, at 1-2.
I. Applicable Law
A. General Probation Authority
Courts do not have inherent power to impose probation. See Busby v. State, 984 S.W.2d 627,
628 (Tex. Crim. App. 1998). Rather, judicial authority to grant probation is subject to legislative
regulation. See id. Probation is governed by article 42.12 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, which
'See Letter from Honorable Jesusa Sanchez-Vera, Jim Wells County Attorney, to Honorable Greg Abbott,
Attorney General of Texas, at 1 (July 17, 2007) (on file with the Opinion Committee, also available at http://
www.oag.state.tx.us) [hereinafter Request Letter].
2Letter from Honorable Richard C. Terrell, District Judge, 79th Judicial District Court, to Honorable Jesusa
Sanchez-Vera, Jim Wells County Attorney, at 1 (May 22, 2007) (attached to Request Letter) [hereinafter Judge Terrell
Letter].
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Texas. Attorney-General's Office. Texas Attorney General Opinion: GA-0593, text, January 17, 2008; (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth275489/m1/1/: accessed April 30, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting UNT Libraries Government Documents Department.