IN THE COURT OF CRIMINAL APPEALS
OF TEXAS
NO. PD-0883-19
MATTHEW JOHN ARMINDARIZ, Appellant
V.
THE STATE OF TEXAS
ON STATE’S PETITION FOR DISCRETIONARY REVIEW
FROM THE EASTLAND COURT OF APPEALS
ECTOR COUNTY
Per curiam. YEARY, J., filed a dissenting opinion in which SLAUGHTER, J.,
joined.
OPINION
Appellant was convicted of murder and sentenced to life imprisonment. In the bill
of costs, the trial court assessed Appellant a $25 time payment fee. See T EX. LOCAL
G OV’T C ODE § 133.103. On appeal, the Court of Appeals struck a portion of that fee as
MATTHEW JOHN ARMINDARIZ - 2
being unconstitutional. Armindariez v. State, No. 11-19-00021-CR (Tex. App.–Eastland
August 15, 2019).
The State has filed a petition for discretionary review arguing that the time
payment fee was prematurely assessed. We recently handed down our opinion in Dulin v.
State, Nos. PD-0856-19 & PD-0857-19, 2021 Tex. Crim. App. LEXIS 273 (Tex. Crim.
App. Mar. 31, 2021), in which we held that the time payment fee was assessed
prematurely because the pendency of appeal suspends the obligation to pay court costs.
Accordingly, we grant ground one of the State’s petition for discretionary review,
vacate the judgment of the Court of Appeals, and remand this case to the Court of
Appeals for proceedings consistent with this opinion. The State’s other ground is
refused.
DATE DELIVERED: May 12, 2021
DO NOT PUBLISH