Tag: original jurisdiction

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State District Courts

In Texas, district courts are the primary trial courts in the state.  Currently, there are 477 district courts, each of which has one judge who serves a four-year term (although the Texas Constitution of 1876 does allow additional judges as required by caseload).  The geographical region served by a district court is established by the Texas legislature.

“The geographic area of most judicial districts is one county, although a populous county has many district courts; Harris County, for example, had fifty-nine. No judicial district is smaller than a county. Some judicial districts in sparsely populated areas comprise more than one county.” (Womack, n.d.)

In many locations, the regional jurisdiction of district courts overlaps.

District courts are courts of general jurisdiction, which means they potentially have original jurisdiction over all matters; however, the Texas Constitution of 1876 limits this jurisdiction by excluding cases in which some other state court has been granted jurisdiction over the matter in question.  Generally speaking, district courts exercise original jurisdiction in:

  • civil matters involving actions over $200*; suits over land titles and enforcement of liens on land; suits for slander and defamation, divorce cases and other family law matters; juvenile law cases; and suits on behalf of the state for penalties, forfeitures, and escheat
  • felony criminal cases and misdemeanor cases involving official misconduct
  • contested elections

*NOTE:  The minimum monetary jurisdiction of district courts in civil cases is disputed due to potential conflict between constitutional and statutory law – some believe the minimum damages must be at least $200.01, and some believe the minimum damages must be at least $500.

Most district courts exercise jurisdiction over civil and criminal matters prescribed to them by law.  “A constitutional district court’s jurisdiction cannot be reduced by the legislature, though the legislature has established some nonconstitutional courts (such as criminal district courts or domestic-relations courts) that have limited jurisdiction” (Womack, n.d.).  Thirteen district courts are designated as criminal district courts – they focus primarily on criminal cases.  Other district courts are directed to give preference to certain specialized areas.

District courts may perform other functions, including issuing writs of habeas corpus, mandamus, injunction, certiorari, sequestration, attachment, garnishment, and all writs needed to enforce their 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.

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Jurisdiction

Jurisdiction refers to a court’s authority to hear a case and render an opinion.  Various types of jurisdiction exist within the federal and state court systems.

Original jurisdiction refers to the authority of a court to hear an initial case.  When a court exercises original jurisdiction, it considers questions of fact and questions of law.  In other words, the court must first determine the facts of the case, or what happened; then, it must determine how the law applies in that particular case.

Appellate jurisdiction refers to the authority of a court to review decisions made by lower courts.  This occurs when one of the parties in the case appeals the case, or requests for a higher court to review the legal decision of a lower court.  When a court exercises appellate jurisdiction, it considers questions of law. (i.e., whether the lower court correctly interpreted and applied the appropriate legal provisions in rendering its judgment).  If there are questions about the facts of the case, the appellate court will remand the case, or send the case back to the lower court for further action (in this case, to review the facts).

Subject matter jurisdiction refers to the authority of a court to hear cases relating to a specific type of claim.  The video below discusses subject matter jurisdiction in more detail, focusing predominantly on federal subject matter jurisdiction.

Regional jurisdiction refers to the authority of a court to hear a case based on where the case originated.  Generally speaking, higher courts have broader regional jurisdiction than intermediate courts, and intermediate courts have broader regional jurisdiction than lower courts within the judicial hierarchy.

Sometimes, due to the type of claim involved in a case, more than one court may exercise overlapping original or appellate jurisdiction.  In this situation, the courts are said to have concurrent jurisdiction.  For example, federal criminal law sometimes overlaps with state criminal law; if someone is accused of committing a crime that falls into this overlap between federal and state criminal law statutes, the case may be initially heard in either a state court or a federal district court.  Exclusive jurisdiction, on the other hand, refers to the sole authority to hear a specific type of case.