Close

Salinas v. State

Mr. Salinas was sentenced to five years in prison with court costs for injury to an elderly individual. He challenged the constitutionality of two of the fees imposed by the court: the abuse of children counseling fee and the comprehensive rehabilitation fee.

Holding

The statute is facially unconstitutional in violation of the separation of powers. The fee must serve a legitimate criminal justice purpose. The comprehensive rehabilitation fee had nothing to do with criminal justice, the abuse of children counseling fee was no longer active, and the money collected reverted to the state General Fund. Court costs reduced. Holding applied retroactively to other cases pending before the court who raised the appropriate claim.

You can find relevant case documents here.

523 S.W.3d 103 (Tex. Crim. App. 2017)
April 2012
Jani Maselli
Close