For the purpose of collecting consolidated court costs, which statement best reflects the definition of conviction?

• A. A judgment, a sentence, or both a judgment and a sentence.
• B. The person receives community supervision, deferred adjudication, or deferred disposition.
• C. The court defers final disposition of the case or imposition of the judgment and sentence.
• D. All of the above.

Answer: (D)

Conviction, for collecting consolidated court costs, is defined broadly to include any disposition that involves guilt or a court-imposed consequence, even if there isn’t a final judgment and sentence entered right away. If a judgment and/or sentence is actually entered, that clearly constitutes a conviction and triggers costs. If the person is placed under community supervision (probation) or if the case uses deferred adjudication or deferred disposition, those are treated as convictions for cost purposes because they still establish guilt and carry a court-imposed consequence. Even when the court defers final disposition of the case or defers the imposition of the judgment and sentence, costs can still be assessed because the disposition is part of the court’s decision-making and creates an obligation.

So all of these scenarios fit the broad definition used for calculating consolidated court costs, making the encompassing choice the best one.