;. THE AITO~EY GENERAL
OF TEXAS
AUCITIN. Tmx~e 1SVll
J.OEN L RSLL
mrlv- QLnx.RIb
June 19, 1974
The Honorable Joe Reswebsr Opinion No. H- 330
County Attorney
Harris County Courthouse Re: Fees of appointed counsel
Houston, Texas. 71002 representing both a criminal
defendant and a juvenile in
different courts on the same
day. Sec. 51.10(i); Family
Code, V. T. C. S. ; Art. 26.05,
Dear Mr. Resweber: V. T. C. C. P.
You have asked our opinion on the following question:
Is a lawyer entitled to receive a $50.00 fee for
representing a defendant 1n.a criminal proceeding
in the District Court when such lawyer has already
been paid $50.00 for representing, on appointment,
a juvenile in the Juvenile Court on the same day?
Compensation for appointed counsel in criminal cases is governed by
Article 26.05 of. the Code of Criminal Procedure which provides in pertinent’
part:
Sec. 1. A counsel appointed to defend a person
accused of a felony or a misdemeanor punish-
able by imprisonment, or to represent an in-
digent in a habeas corpus hearing, shall be paid
from the general fund of the county in which the
prosecution was instituted or habeas corpus
hearing held, according to the following scheduler
(a) For each day or a fractional part thereof
in court representing the accused, a reasonable
fee to be set by the court brt in no event to be
less than $50.00.
. . .
Sec. 4. An attorney may not re+ve more than one
fee for each day in court, regardligas of the number
‘3.
IL1530 ( _. .~Y : _-
.
*’
The Honorable Joe Resweber, page 2 (H-330)
of cases in which he appears as appointed counsel
on the same day.
Section 4 of Art. 26.05 has been consistently interpreted by this office
as limiting an attorney, to one fee per day even’though he represents one
defendant on multiple indictments on the same’day [Attorney General
Opinion No. H-298 (1974)], or represents several defendants on the same
day [Attorney General Opinion No. C-639 (1966)]; or represents several
difendants in several different courts on the same day [Attorney General
Opinion No. C-713 (1966)].
Court appointments in juvenile matters are governed by Sec. 51.10
of the Tewa Family Code. Subsection (i) of Sec. 51.10 provides:
(i) . . . [A]n attorney appointed under this
section to represent the interests of a child shall
be paid from the general fond of the county in which
the proceedings tier8 instituted according to the.
schedule in Article 26,05.df the Texas Code of
Criminal Procedure, 1965. . . . ’
, I
The Family Code incorporates by reference “the rchedule in Article
26.05, I’ and we believe that this can only be read as incorporating the
entire schedule. In our opinion, the’one fee per day limitation of Sec. 4
of Article 26.05 is an’integral part of the fee schedule.
While these provisions limit an appointed attorney to a single fee per
day, it should also be noted that the attorney is statutorily entitled to a
“reacronable fee” and the reference to $50 only establishes a minimum
and is not a .&&her limitation.
.. ‘, ,~
Thus. in our opinion, where an appointed attorney represents both
an indigent defendant in district court and a juvenile in juvenile court on
the same day, he may only be compensated by a singte fee.
‘I
p. 1531
The Honorable Joe Resweber, page 3 (H-330)
SUMMARY
An appointed attorney~who represents both an
indigent criminal defendant in district court and a
juvenile in juvenile court on the same day may not
receive more than a single fee.
Very truly yours,
Attorney General of Texas
AP ROVED:
3
DAVID M. KENDALL, Chairman
Opinion Committee
p. 1532