(A) Municipal Court. The Municipal Court exists by operation of law.
(B) (1) Jurisdiction. The Municipal Court shall have exclusive original jurisdiction within the city’s territorial limits and property owned by the city located in the city's extraterritorial jurisdiction in all criminal cases that arise under:
(a) The ordinances of the city; or
(b) A resolution, rule, or order of a joint board operating an airport under Tex. Transportation Code, § 22.074, and are punishable by a fine not to exceed:
1. $2,000 in all cases arising under municipal ordinances or resolutions, rules, or orders of a joint board that govern fire safety, zoning, or public health and sanitation, other than the dumping of refuse;
2. $4,000 in cases arising under municipal ordinances that govern the dumping of refuse; or
3. $500 in all other cases arising under a municipal ordinance or a resolution, rule, or order of a joint board.
(2) The Municipal Court has concurrent jurisdiction with the Justice Court of a precinct in which the municipality is located in all criminal cases arising under state law that arise within the municipality's territorial limits or property owned by the municipality located in the municipality's extraterritorial jurisdiction and that:
(a) Are punishable by fine only, as defined in division (3) below; or
(b) Arise under Tex. Alcoholic Beverage Code, Ch. 106, and do not include confinement as an authorized sanction.
(3) An offense which is punishable by fine only is defined as an offense that is punishable by fine and such sanctions, if any, as authorized by statute not consisting of confinement in jail or imprisonment. The fact that a conviction in a municipal court has as a consequence the imposition of a penalty or sanction by an agency or entity other than the court, such as a denial, suspension, or revocation of a privilege, does not affect the original jurisdiction of the Municipal Court. The Municipal Court has jurisdiction in the forfeiture and final judgment of all bail bonds and personal bonds taken in criminal cases of which the Court has jurisdiction.
(4) The Municipal Court shall have exclusive appellate jurisdiction within the municipality's territorial limits in a case arising under Tex. Transportation Code, Ch. 707.
(C) Office of Municipal Judge. The Judge of the Municipal Court will, following appointment (by the Mayor) and confirmation (by the governing body), serve for a term of office of two years unless the city provides for a longer term pursuant to Article XI, Section 11, of the Texas Constitution. If the Judge of the Municipal Court is not reappointed and confirmed by the ninety-first day following the expiration of a term of office, the Judge of the Municipal Court shall, absent action by the appointing authority (Mayor), continue to serve for another term of office beginning on the date the previous term of office expired.
(D) Qualifications. The Judge of the Municipal Court may (but not shall) be licensed to practice law in the State of Texas.
(E) Duties of Municipal Judge. The Judge of the Municipal Court shall:
(1) Maintain a central docket of all cases filed in the geographic limits of the city over which the Municipal Court of the city has jurisdiction;
(2) Distribute cases to associate judges, if necessary;
(3) Temporarily assign associate judges, when necessary;
(4) Cause all dockets, books, papers, and other records of the Municipal Court to be permanently kept, and permit the records to be available for inspection at all reasonable times to any interested person;
(5) Maintain, as part of the court records, an index to the Municipal Court judgments, such as county clerks are required by law to prepare for criminal cases arising in county courts;
(6) Provide for the preservation of the Court's records on microfilm, when necessary; and
(7) Supervise the operations, clerical functions, administration of the municipal court, and all clerical personnel in the Administrative Department of the Municipal Court.
(Ord. 2018-11-05, passed 11-5-2018)
Statutory reference:
Municipal Court, see Tex. Loc. Gov’t. Code, §§ 29.002 - 29.007
Clerk, see Tex. Loc. Gov’t. Code, § 29.010