§ 14.006.Court Fees, Court Costs, Other Costs

The payment scheme, and it collects costs over time rather than at filing.

A court may order an inmate to pay court fees, court costs, and other costs, and the clerk mails a copy of the order and a certified bill of costs to the department or jail.

The first payment is the lesser of 20 percent of the preceding six months’ deposits to the trust account, or the total fees and costs.

Each following month the inmate pays the lesser of 10 percent of that month’s deposits, or the unpaid balance, until the costs are paid or the inmate is released.

The design has a real logic. An inmate cannot pay a filing fee at the counter, but deposits arrive over time, and a percentage of them can be captured without leaving the account empty.

Release ends the obligation under this section, since the mechanism depends on an account the facility administers.

The facility does the collecting. On receiving the order it withdraws money from the trust account, holds it in a separate account, and forwards it to the clerk when the balance is covered or the inmate is released.

The inmate must file a certified trust account statement showing the balance at filing and six months of activity — which is what lets the court set the first payment.

Two enforcement provisions close the section. The court may dismiss a claim if the inmate fails to pay, and an inmate may not avoid the fees by nonsuiting a party or voluntarily dismissing the action.

The second closes the obvious escape. Without it, an inmate assessed costs could drop the case and owe nothing, and the scheme would deter nothing.