(a) 
There is hereby created a Municipal Court of Record No. 1 in and for the city, to be designated as “The Municipal Court of Record in the City of Lancaster.” The court shall have no term and may sit at any time for the transaction of business of the court. Where the term “municipal court” is used in the city’s charter or this Code of Ordinances, it shall mean the municipal court of record created herein. Any provision of the city charter, city ordinances, or state law that is applicable to a municipal court shall be applicable to the municipal court of record created herein unless the provision is in conflict or inconsistent with chapter 30 of the Texas Government Code, as amended, which governs the municipal courts of record.
(b) 
The municipal court of record shall be a unified municipal court and shall have and exercise that jurisdiction conferred by section 30.00005 of chapter 30 of the Texas Government Code, as amended. The municipal court of record shall also have:
(1) 
Civil jurisdiction for the purpose of enforcing municipal ordinances enacted under subchapter A, chapter 214, Local Government Code, or subchapter E, chapter 683, Transportation Code;
(2) 
Concurrent jurisdiction with a district court or a county court at law under subchapter B, chapter 54, Texas Local Government Code, as amended, within the city’s territorial limits and property owned by the city located in the city’s extraterritorial jurisdiction for the purpose of enforcing health and safety and nuisance abatement ordinances; and
(3) 
Authority to issue:
(A) 
Search warrants for the purpose of investigating a health and safety or nuisance abatement ordinance violation; and
(B) 
Seizure warrants for the purpose of securing, removing, or demolishing the offending property and removing the debris from the premises.
(Ordinance 2008-01-01, adopted 1/14/08)
(a) 
Appointment; compensation.
The municipal court of record is presided over by a municipal judge, who shall be appointed by the city council for a term of two (2) years and shall be entitled to compensation as set by the city council. The amount of the judge’s compensation may not be diminished during the judge’s term of office. The compensation may not be based directly or indirectly on fines, fees, or costs collected by the court.
(b) 
Qualifications; vacancies.
The municipal judge must be a citizen of the United States, a resident of the state, a licensed attorney in good standing, and have two or more years of experience in the practice of law in the state. In the event of a vacancy in the office of the municipal judge, the city council may appoint a qualified person to fill the vacancy and to preside over the municipal court of record for the remainder of the unexpired term.
(c) 
City employees ineligible to serve as judge.
A person may not serve as a municipal judge if the person is employed as an employee of the city. A municipal judge who accepts employment with the city vacates the judicial office.
(d) 
Alternate judges.
The city council may appoint alternate judges, subject to the same qualifications as the municipal judge, who shall have all the powers and shall discharge all the duties of the municipal judge while serving as municipal judge. Each appointment shall be for a term of two (2) years. The municipal judges may exchange benches and act for each other in any proceeding pending in the court. An act performed by any of the judges is binding on all parties to the proceeding.
(e) 
Authority and duties.
The municipal judge and alternate judges shall take judicial notice of state law and the ordinances and corporate limits of the city and shall have all powers and authority as provided by section 30.00006 of the Texas Government Code, as amended. The judges may grant writs of mandamus, attachment, and other writs necessary to the enforcement of the jurisdiction of the court and may issue writs of habeas corpus in cases in which the offense charged is within the jurisdiction of the court. A municipal judge is a magistrate and may issue administrative search warrants.
(Ordinance 2008-01-01, adopted 1/14/08)
(a) 
The city manager or his designee shall appoint the clerk of the municipal court of record, who may hire, direct, and remove the personnel authorized in the city’s annual budget for the clerk’s office. The clerk or the clerk’s deputies shall have all duties and authority as provided by section 30.00009 of the Texas Government Code, as amended.
(b) 
The court clerk shall acquire and maintain a seal in conformance with state law for the municipal court of record in the city.
(c) 
The court clerk shall supervise the selection of persons for jury service in the municipal court of record.
(Ordinance 2008-01-01, adopted 1/14/08)
Upon request of the judge or upon written request of one of the parties to a trial, proceedings of the municipal court of record, limited to trial testimony and hearings on motions before the court, shall be recorded. For the purpose of recording the proceedings and preserving a record in cases tried before the municipal court of record, a good quality electronic recording device shall be used. When the recording device is used, a court reporter need not be present at the trial to certify the reporter’s record. The recording shall be kept and stored for a 20-day period beginning the day after the last day of the proceeding, trial or denial of motion for a new trial, whichever occurs last. If the case is appealed, the proceedings shall be transcribed by an official court reporter.
(Ordinance 2008-01-01, adopted 1/14/08)
(a) 
A defendant has the right of appeal from a judgment or conviction in the municipal court of record. The state has the right to an appeal as provided by article 44.01, Texas Code of Criminal Procedure, as amended.
(b) 
The appellate court shall determine each appeal from the court on the basis of the errors that are set forth in the appellant’s motion and that are presented in the clerk’s record and reporter’s record, if any, prepared from the proceedings leading to the appeal. An appeal from the court shall not be by trial de novo.
(c) 
To perfect an appeal, the defendant must file a motion for new trial not later than ten (10) days after the date on which the judgment and sentence are rendered. The motion must be in writing and must be filed with the clerk of the municipal court of record. The motion constitutes the assignment of error on appeal. A ground or an error not set forth in the motion is waived. If the court does not act on the motion before the expiration of thirty (30) days after it is filed with the clerk, the motion is overruled by operation of law.
(d) 
After an order overruling a motion for new trial, the defendant shall give written notice of appeal and pay a fee as established by the city council for the preparation of the clerk’s record not later than ten (10) days after the date on which the motion is overruled. The court shall note the payment of the fee on the docket of the court. If the case is reversed on appeal, the fee shall be refunded to the defendant.
(e) 
The appellant shall pay for any reporter’s record containing a transcription of the proceedings unless the court finds, after a hearing in response to an affidavit by the defendant, that the defendant is unable to pay or provide security for the reporter’s record. If the court so finds, the court shall order the reporter to prepare the record without charge to the defendant. Before the recorded proceedings are transcribed, the defendant shall, unless found by the court to be unable to pay for the reporter’s record, post a cash deposit with the municipal court for the estimated cost of the record. The cash deposit shall be based on an estimate provided by the court reporter or the length of proceedings as indicated by the amount of tape used to electronically record the proceedings, if any, and the cost of the court reporter, typing, and other incidental services. The municipal court may post a current schedule of the charges for transcription fees, including deposits. If the cash deposit exceeds the actual cost of the reporter’s record, the court reporter shall refund the difference to the defendant. If the cash deposit is insufficient to cover the actual cost of the transcription, the defendant must pay the additional amount to the court reporter before the transcription may be submitted. If a case is reversed on appeal, the court shall promptly refund to the defendant any amounts paid for the reporter’s record.
(f) 
The record on appeal must substantially conform to the provisions relating to the preparation of a record on appeal in the Texas Rules of Appellate Procedure and the Texas Code of Criminal Procedure, as amended.
(g) 
If the defendant is not in custody, the defendant may not take an appeal until the defendant files an appeal bond with the municipal court of record. The bond must be approved by the court and must be filed not later than the 10th day after the date on which the motion for new trial is overruled. If the defendant is in custody, the defendant shall be committed to jail unless the defendant posts the appeal bond. The appeal bond must be in the amount of $100.00 or double the amount of the fines and costs adjudged against the defendant, whichever is greater. The bond must:
(1) 
State that the defendant was convicted in the case and has appealed; and
(2) 
Be conditioned on the defendant’s immediate and daily personal appearance in the court to which the appeal is taken.
(Ordinance 2008-01-01, adopted 1/14/08)
Upon conviction, a defendant shall also remit to the city such court costs as are authorized by law, imposed by the state, and established by the city.
(Ordinance 2008-01-01, adopted 1/14/08)