London v. Texas (original by judge newell)
Annotate this CaseTwo days after appellant Joshua London’s arrest for possession of a controlled substance, the trial court found him indigent and appointed counsel to represent him. London was convicted of possession of cocaine after pleading guilty without an agreed recommendation as to punishment. Appellant was sentenced to 25 years in prison. The trial court included in the judgment an order to pay $329 in court costs. The judgment provided only the $329 amount and no break down of how those costs were calculated. Rather than challenge the constitutionality of the trial court’s imposition of court costs through a hearing pursuant to Article 103.008 or a separate civil lawsuit, Appellant sought to raise, on direct appeal, an as-applied challenge to two provisions in Article 102.011 that imposed mandatory court costs upon conviction. The court of appeals, relying upon the Court of Criminal Appeals' decision in "Curry v. Texas," held that Appellant failed to preserve error on this claim. The Court of Criminal Appeals granted review to determine whether Appellant could raise his as-applied challenge for the first time on appeal, and whether a formal bill of exceptions was necessary to provide a sufficient record for the court of appeals to properly evaluate the claim on direct appeal. Without considering the merits of the underlying claim, the Court held that Appellant was not required to raise his as-applied challenge in the trial court because his first opportunity to do so was on direct appeal. The Court also held that Appellant’s as-applied challenge could be evaluated upon the record presented. Consequently, the Court reversed and remanded for the court of appeals to consider the merits of Appellant’s as-applied challenge.
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