Municipal Courts
The Texas legislature created municipal courts in each incorporated municipality in Texas. Municipalities may choose to establish their own municipal courts in city charters instead of those established by the state legislature. Currently, there are 944 municipal courts.
Municipal courts exercise:
- exclusive original jurisdiction over criminal violations of municipal ordinances
- exclusive original jurisdiction over criminal cases arising under ordinances authorized by certain provisions of the Local Government Code
- concurrent original jurisdiction in misdemeanor cases punishable by fine only
- concurrent original jurisdiction over truancy cases
Municipal courts also perform magistrate functions, such as issuing search and arrest warrants, conducting preliminary hearings, and setting bail.
Most municipal courts, including those created by the Texas legislature, are not courts of record, which means appeals must be heard de novo; county-level courts hearing these appeals must review both questions of fact and questions of law.
Some municipal courts are courts of record; these courts may be granted additional jurisdiction over civil and criminal cases as authorized by the state legislature or municipality. Appeals from municipal courts of record are treated like appeals from any other court of record: the appellate court considers only questions of law.
Justice of the Peace Courts
Justice of the peace courts are created by the Texas Constitution of 1876, which, as amended, provides that each Texas county be divided into between one and eight justice of the peace precincts. Each of these precincts has one justice of the peace court and at least one justice of the peace, who serves a four-year term. Currently, there are 802 justice of the peace courts in Texas.
Justice of the peace courts exercise:
- concurrent original jurisdiction in misdemeanor cases punishable by fine only
- exclusive original jurisdiction in civil actions of up to $200
- concurrent original jurisdiction in civil actions between $200 and $10,000
- exclusive original jurisdiction over forcible entry and eviction cases
- concurrent original jurisdiction over repair and remedy cases and truancy cases
Justice of the peace courts also perform magistrate functions, such as issuing search and arrest warrants, conducting preliminary hearings, and setting bail.
Justice of the peace courts are not courts of record, which means appeals must be heard de novo.
Most cases heard by local trial courts involve minor traffic offenses.