Criminal Court Decision Changes ‘Fines’ Policy, May Affect Revenue

By Darren Hunt

EL PASO — A decision by the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals mightallow traffic violators and serious offenders to reduce the amount of fines paid for transgressions.

Previously, Texas courts assessed fines for multiple counts of offenses individually, yielding high fine amounts. A new decision could make a significant change in how fines are levied against violators.

For citations on multiple infractions such as speeding, no insurance and an expired registration sticker, offenders would only be required to pay the largest of those fines. The new ‘concurrent fine’ payment decision was based on a 5-to-4 ruling on a case involving an El Paso lawyer.

The attorney was found guilty on 13 counts of soliciting accident victims, each count carrying a $10,000 fine. The total $130,000 was reduced to just one of those $10,000 fines.

El Paso District Attorney Jaime Esparza said cities could be heavily affected by the decision, who rely on revenues from fines paid. El Paso received nearly $25 million in ticket revenue last year alone

“The way the Court of Criminal Appeals has ruled, it will cost municipalities across the state money,” Esparza said.

Esparza’s opponent in the upcoming election, Theresa Caballero believed the decision followed the logic of the law as written for prison term sentences.

“If jail time is run concurrently, then logically fines should be run concurrently with other fines. This is an effort on the part of the court to make the law more consistent and easier to interpret andI applaud them for that,” Caballero said.

The city attorney’s office is reviewing the decision to see how best to effectively implement it and a spokesman with the El Paso Police Department said officers will continue to cite offenders for multiple violations during traffic stops.