Ashley Gerrod Carter v. State, 12-16-00257-CR

In 2014 Carter was indicted for failing to comply with sex-offender registration; an enhancement alleged a prior felony. He pleaded guilty under a negotiated plea, the enhancement was found true, and the trial court suspended a six-year sentence and placed him on 5 years community supervision.
The judgment placing Carter on community supervision assessed $900 in court-appointed attorney’s fees and included a plea-agreement provision requiring reimbursement.
In 2015 the State moved to revoke supervision; at the revocation hearing the court found two violations true (failure to report and obtain employment) and revoked supervision, sentencing Carter to four years’ imprisonment.
The revocation order assessed $1,300 in attorney’s fees, itemized as $900 previously assessed and $400 in new fees for defending the revocation.
The record contains no evidence of any material change in Carter’s indigency or financial ability to pay the $400 in new fees; the trial court had continued his indigent status and the parties introduced no financial evidence at revocation.

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument	Defendant's Argument	Held
Whether evidence supports assessment of $1,300 attorney’s fees after revocation	State: court may assess fees for appointed counsel	Carter: no evidence of ability to pay; indigent status continued	Partly sustain: $900 fee from original supervision order is forfeited from this appeal but remains; $400 new fees reversed (deleted)
Whether Carter forfeited challenge to the $900 attorney fee	State: Carter knew obligation from plea and did not appeal	Carter: (implicitly) challenges total assessment on revocation	Court: Carter forfeited appeal challenge to $900 because he was aware and did not bring direct appeal
Standard for imposing attorney’s fees on appointed counsel	State: trial court may assess fees if record supports financial ability	Carter: must show material change from indigency to impose fees	Court: fees require factual basis showing ability to pay or material change; absent evidence, cannot impose new fees
Remedy when fees lack evidentiary support	State: assessment should stand if procedurally proper	Carter: delete unsupported fees	Court: reform judgment to delete unsupported $400 in new fees; affirm as modified

Johnson v. State, 423 S.W.3d 385 (Tex. Crim. App. 2014) (court costs are nonpunitive recoupment; appellate review asks whether a basis for costs exists)
Mayer v. State, 309 S.W.3d 552 (Tex. Crim. App. 2010) (no fee may be imposed absent evidence of a material change in financial circumstances)
Wiley v. State, 410 S.W.3d 313 (Tex. Crim. App. 2013) (challenge to fees imposed in initial community-supervision order must be raised on direct appeal; revocation appeal can challenge additional fees)
Riles v. State, 452 S.W.3d 333 (Tex. Crim. App. 2015) (defendant who was aware of fee obligation and did not appeal forfeits challenge)
Cates v. State, 402 S.W.3d 250 (Tex. Crim. App. 2013) (remedy for unsupported attorney-fee assessment is reformation/deletion of the unsupported portion of the judgment)
Johnson v. State, 405 S.W.3d 350 (Tex. App.–Tyler 2013) (trial court must base fee assessment on some factual basis in the record)