Glossary
A
- Alternative punishment
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Consequences that a judge may impose instead of requiring you to pay your fines and costs in full. Alternative punishments include payment plans, community service and a waiver or reduction of what you owe. Community service is broadly defined so may entail many types of activities.
C
- Citation
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Another word for “ticket,” which is a document charging you with an offense, usually one punishable by a fine.
- Class C misdemeanor
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An offense that is supposed to be punished by only a fine and no jail time when someone is sentenced. However, Class C misdemeanors may result in the issuance of an arrest warrant or jail time if the offender fails to pay or appear in court. In this toolkit, we use the term “fine-only offense” or “fine-only misdemeanor” to include Class C misdemeanors and any other offense intended to be punished by fine alone and no jail time.
- Community service
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An alternative punishment that you may request in certain circumstances if you are unable to pay your fine. For every hour of community service worked, you will have $12.50 or more of your fines and costs forgiven. The definition of what counts as community service is very broad so can include activities like job or vocational training, tutoring, a GED class, drug or alcohol treatment, or other self-improvement activities that the judge determines would improve your chance of not appearing in court again.
- Complaint
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A document outlining the charges brought against you.
- Court cost
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Costs that are automatically charged to anyone who is convicted or placed on deferred disposition in a criminal case. These are charged on top of the fine and vary case by case but are typically in the range of $75 to $130, on top of the fine you are ordered to pay.
D
- Deferred disposition
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An agreement where a person who has been charged with a fine-only misdemeanor agrees to plead guilty or “no contest” and complete certain requirements, like a driver’s safety course or other reasonable conditions ordered by the court. If the person successfully completes the requirements, the case will be dismissed without the person being convicted of the crime.
- Driver’s Responsibility Program (DRP)
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A program that allowed the Texas Department of Public Safety to require people to pay surcharges – in addition to fines and court costs – when they were convicted of certain traffic convictions. The DRP was repealed as of September 1, 2019, and all surcharges formerly owed have been forgiven.
E
F
- Fee
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Additional costs associated with appearing in court charged on top of the fines and court costs. These fees vary case by case and include things like $10 to lift a driver’s license hold (or $30 if the hold was placed before January 1, 2020) or $50 if a warrant for your arrest has been issued.
- Fine
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The amount of money you have to pay if you receive a ticket and plead guilty or no contest, or are found guilty by the court after pleading not guilty. The amount of a fine will vary depending on the offense and the court.
- Fine-only offense/Fine-only misdemeanor
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Any misdemeanor punishable by only a fine, including Class C misdemeanors, most traffic violations, and city ordinance violations.
O
- OmniBase
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A company that keeps track of drivers who are unable to renew their licenses because they have failed to pay a fine or failed to appear in court. Sometimes called “Omni” for short.
P
- Payment plan
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If you cannot pay all your fines and costs at once, a payment plan lets you pay a little at a time until you’ve paid off the full amount.
S
- Summons
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A letter from the court ordering that you appear in court on a certain date.
- Surcharge
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A fee that you might have been charged by the Department of Public Safety for certain traffic convictions prior to September 1, 2019 (see “Driver Responsibility Program”).