Background
In April 2025, Dequan King pleaded guilty to sexual assault of a child, a second-degree felony. The trial court placed him on deferred adjudication with ten years’ community supervision, a $1,200 fine, and an order to reimburse $1,300 in court-appointed attorney fees. King subsequently violated several conditions of supervision, including failure to obtain employment, drug use, incomplete community service, unpaid supervision fees, and missing sex offender counseling sessions.
At the November 2025 revocation hearing, King stipulated to the violations. The trial court adjudicated him guilty, sentenced him to seven years’ imprisonment, and assessed a $1,200 fine, an $1,800 attorney fee reimbursement (including $500 for additional work during revocation), a $15 time-payment fee, and court costs. King appealed, challenging the fines, attorney fees, and time-payment fee.
The Court’s Holding
The court held that the $1,200 fine must be struck because it was not orally pronounced at the revocation hearing. Under Texas law, when a trial court terminates deferred adjudication, any fine imposed during adjudication must be orally pronounced at that time. A fine imposed during the original deferred adjudication order does not carry forward; the court cannot impose a written judgment differing from the oral pronouncement without violating due process.
Regarding the $1,300 attorney fee from the deferred adjudication order, the court affirmed it, holding that King procedurally defaulted his challenge by failing to appeal the deferred adjudication order within which the fee appeared. The bill of costs was provided at the original hearing with the notation that attorney fees would be included, giving King knowledge to appeal then. The additional $500 in attorney fees assessed at revocation was also affirmed because the trial court had previously found King able to pay at the deferred adjudication stage, and King presented no evidence of changed circumstances.
The court struck the $15 time-payment fee as prematurely assessed. Under Texas precedent, a time-payment fee cannot be assessed while an appeal is pending because appellate proceedings suspend the duty to pay costs and the running of time for fee assessment purposes.
Key Takeaways
- Oral pronouncement of sentence is mandatory; written judgments conflicting with oral pronouncements must be reformed to match what was orally stated.
- Defendants must challenge conditions imposed at deferred adjudication—including attorney fees—in a direct appeal from that order or forfeit the right to challenge later.
- Attorney fees during revocation proceedings may be assessed based on a prior ability-to-pay finding unless the defendant demonstrates changed financial circumstances.
- Time-payment fees cannot be assessed while appellate proceedings are pending.
Why It Matters
This decision clarifies critical procedural requirements in Texas criminal sentencing, particularly for defendants on deferred adjudication who later face revocation. The holding protects defendants’ due-process right to fair notice by enforcing strict compliance with oral pronouncement requirements. It also establishes that defendants cannot sit silent during deferred adjudication hearings and later challenge costs and attorney fees; they must raise such issues immediately or lose them.
For trial courts and practitioners, the decision underscores the importance of clearly pronouncing all sentence components aloud at revocation hearings and documenting ability-to-pay findings. The ruling also confirms that appellate status freezes time-payment-fee obligations, a protection that applies across criminal cases in Texas.