Deferred Fine: An Alternative Disposition for Class C Misdemeanors

This 1983 article discusses article 45.54 of the Texas Code of Criminal Procedure. The amendments had been recently enacted at the time of the article. Before these amendments, the Justice of the Peace and Municipal Courts of Texas lacked statutory authority to probate any fine assessed for Class C misdemeanors. The enactment of article 45.54 provided these courts probation authority, without ever expressly referring to it as such. In the article, Professor Baker and Professor Bubany consider the terms of the legislation, its potential uses, and some likely problems in its applications. The article concludes by noting that the ultimate significance of the new deferral procedure cannot be fully discerned. The authors point out, however, that because of its potential significance, article 45.54 warrants careful consideration by attorneys and judges involved in misdemeanor cases.