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The felony appointed-counsel fee schedule adopted under CCP art. 26.05 by the Criminal District Court judges and the district judges giving preference to criminal cases — composed to the CURRENT July 2026 edition (adopted by majority vote Feb. 10, 2026; applying to all appointments on or after July 6, 2026; certified by Presiding Judge Audra Riley), with the registered May 2023 edition receipted: the fixed-rate-or-itemized ($135/hour) election, disposition rates from $400 (probation violation) through $1,250 (first-degree or non-death capital) with state-jail and third-degree tiers split, trial-day and competency-hearing rates, appellate rates, the $750 no-prior-approval cap on expert and investigative expenses, Defense Portal voucher and tenth-hour time-documentation requirements, and the written-findings dispute procedure with §26.05 appeals.
Texas > Dallas County > the Criminal District Courts and the district courts giving preference to criminal cases (all felony courts) — non-death-penalty felony appointments; the misdemeanor courts' compensation runs under the separately composed Indigent Defense Plan and the county courts' own fee schedule
ADOPTION: "The Criminal District Court Judges of Dallas County and the Judges of the District Courts giving preference to criminal cases in Dallas County, in accordance with the requirements of TEX. CODE CRIM. PROC. § 26.05, formally adopt the following fee schedule for the compensation of appointed counsel in all felony cases other than capital cases in which the state seeks the death penalty." COMPENSATION ELECTION (I): every court-appointed attorney chooses the fixed rate or an itemized bill "paid at the rate of $135 per hour. The attorney cannot choose both methods. All fees are to be awarded at the discretion of the Judge based upon the complexity of the case and the work completed." FIXED RATES (II, July 2026): $400.00 — disposition in a probation-violation case; $700.00 — state jail case; $800.00 — third-degree felony; $1,000.00 — second-degree felony; $1,250.00 — first-degree felony or non-death-penalty capital murder; $800.00 — full day of contested trial; $400.00 — half day; $700.00 — contested competency hearing; $400.00 — agreed competency hearing; "$250 for each additional case disposed" (inapplicable to additional cases in an agreed competency hearing). APPEALS (III): hourly rate $100.00; jury-trial range $1,800.00–$3,500.00; Anders brief $400.00–$1,000.00; standard approved expenses cover reading the record, research, and writing the brief; discretionary pay for letters, calls, and family meetings; appellate argument pays preparation, argument, travel, and hotel. EXPERT AND INVESTIGATIVE FEES (IV): prior court approval should be obtained for all investigator and expert expenses; "Counsel may incur expenses not to exceed $750.00 without prior court approval" — unapproved expenses are reimbursed up to $750.00 if reasonably necessary and reasonably incurred, and "Any fees or expenses in excess of $750.00 must receive prior court approval"; investigators at $70.00/hour plus mileage at 34½ cents per mile; experts at their actual hourly rate, each to the $750 no-approval maximum. EXPENSES AND TIME (V–VI): reimbursement on an itemized accounting submitted with the Defense Portal voucher, paid only after the judge approves the itemization; every compensation request runs through a Defense Portal voucher — no activity detail is required for fixed-amount disposition requests, but hourly or pre-disposition compensation requires an itemized list of legal services with type, date, location, and time "rounded to the nearest tenth of an hour (6 minute increments)"; voucher submission "is an attestation as to the accuracy of the request." DISPUTES (VII): the judge approves requests unless deemed unreasonable; disapprovals draw written findings stating the approved amount and each reason; dissatisfied counsel may appeal per CCP §26.05. CERTIFICATION (current edition): adopted by majority vote of the felony judges on February 10, 2026, applying to all appointments on or after July 6, 2026, signed June 10, 2026 by Audra Riley, Presiding Judge, Criminal District Courts. (Prior edition: adopted May 4, 2023, effective May 15, 2023, certified by then-Presiding Judge Hector Garza — registered as TOPICs doc 1453.)
Reviewer note: CURRENT-EDITION COMPOSITION BY VISION (2026-08-28): the county posts the July 2026 edition own-site only (FeeSched-July2026-signed.pdf, image-only scan rendered and read page-by-page; custody sha in the crawl ledger) — it supersedes the registered May 2023 edition (TOPICs doc 1453, also vision-read; receipted; sections IV–VII unchanged between editions, rates and hourly election updated as composed); the presiding-judge certification rotated Garza (2023) to Audra Riley (2026) — Riley sits as Criminal District Court No. 3 per OCA, the presiding role is the felony bench’s administrative office; custody sha256s in the registry and crawl ledgers.
G-2026-045-SC required anyone using generative AI to disclose it on the face of the filing and add a scripted certification, on pain of striking, denial of relief or monetary penalties. Rule 2.515(d)(2) and AOSC26-12 preempted it on June 15, 2026, so it could not be enforced — and by August 16, 2026 the Seventh Circuit had removed the order from its published register (no rescission instrument appears there). BenchPath holds the hashed capture as the historical record.
3 verbatim requirements on divisional requirements in ANDREW L. SIEGEL's division.