Tag: limited jurisdiction

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County-Level Trial Courts of Limited Jurisdiction

Constitutional County Courts

The Texas Constitution states that each of the 254 counties in Texas will operate a county constitutional court, each of which will have a constitutional county judge who presides over the constitutional county court in addition to the county commissioners’ court during the office’s four-year term (we’ll come back to county commissioners’ courts when we look at local government later in this course).

Generally, constitutional county courts exercise both original and appellate jurisdiction:

  • concurrent original jurisdiction in civil actions between $200 and $10,000 and cases involving juvenile matters
  • exclusive original jurisdiction in misdemeanor cases (other than those involving official misconduct) with possible fines greater than $500 or a jail sentence of no more than one year
  • general jurisdiction over probate matters (i.e., wills, estates, and guardianship cases)
  • appellate jurisdiction of decisions made by local courts within the county

Thirty-six constitutional county courts have concurrent jurisdiction with the justice of the peace courts in civil law cases.  In counties with at least 1.75 million residents, constitutional county courts may also hear truancy cases.

“In at least seventy-four counties the constitutional county court’s judicial duties have been given, in whole or in part, to statutory county courts” (Womack, n.d.); in these counties, constitutional county courts focus on administrative functions (i.e., running county government).

Statutory County Courts

Statutory county courts, as the name suggests, are created by the Texas legislature.  The first statutory county court was created in 1907.  Currently, we have 249 statutory county courts.

“The . . . jurisdictions of the statutory courts vary greatly from county to county, depending on the decisions of the county” (Womack, n.d.).  Generally, statutory county courts have jurisdiction in civil, criminal, original, and appellate actions prescribed by law for constitutional county courts.  Additionally, these courts have concurrent original jurisdiction over civil matters up to $200,000 and appellate jurisdiction of final rulings and decisions of the Texas Workers’ Compensation Commission, with some courts having a higher maximum jurisdiction amount.  Ultimately, the actual jurisdiction of a statutory court depends on what is prescribed in statute; as such, the jurisdiction of statutory county courts varies greatly.

Statutory Probate Courts

Statutory probate courts, which are created by the Texas legislature, are limited in scope and solely perform probate matters.  Currently, there are 18 statutory probate courts located in ten different counties.

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Local Trial Courts of Limited Jurisdiction

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.