Texas Attorney General Opinion: H-963 Page: 4 of 5
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The Honorable Maurice S. Pipkin - page 4 (H-963)
Article 27.14 indicates that, in any traffic offense
"for which the maximum possible punishment is by fine only,"
which embraces every offense within the jurisdiction of a
justice court, a defendant may plead guilty by paying a
fine or by paying "an amount accepted by the court." In
our opinion, as soon as a defendant has thereby paid a
fine and such fine has been received and accepted by the
court, he has "appeared in court" for purposes of section
148. Of course, a justice of the peace may insist that a
defendant make an appearance in the courtroom simply
by refusing to set the amount of the fine by mail or by
telephone. If, however, the justice of the peace prefers
to handle the transaction without requiring the defendant's
presence in court, either personally or by counsel, there
is nothing in section 148, when read in conjunction with
article 27.14, which would prevent his doing so. In such
instance, a defendant has entered his plea and thus "appeared"
when the justice has received and accepted the payment tendered.
If the defendant mails a written plea of guilty or nolo
contendere to the justice of the peace, but fails to enclose
payment in the amount of the fine, he has not fully complied
with the requirements of article 27.14 for entering a plea.
In such case, he is apparently still obliged to fulfill his
written promise to appear in court, which may be satisfied by a
personal appearance on the appointed date or by an appearance
of counsel. If the defendant wilfully violates that written
promise, he is guilty of a misdemeanor under section 149(a).
Your second question is whether, under section 148,
a defendant may, through his attorney, plead not guilty and
subsequently mail an appearance bond to a justice of the
peace. Although, as we have noted, the Code of Criminal
Procedure makes special procedures available for pleas of
guilty in misdemeanor cases, it is more restrictive regarding
pleas of not guilty. Article 27.16 provides:
The plea of not guilty may be made orally
by the defendant or by his counsel in
open court. If the defendant refuses to
plead, the plea of not guilty shall be
entered for him by the court.
In our opinion, a defendant who promises to "appear in court"
pursuant to section 148, and who wishes to plead not guilty,
must do so "in open court," either personally or throughp. 4015
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Texas. Attorney-General's Office. Texas Attorney General Opinion: H-963, text, March 28, 1977; (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth271488/m1/4/: accessed July 17, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu.; crediting UNT Libraries Government Documents Department.