The city council hereby establishes the city municipal court
as a municipal court of record in order to provide a more efficient
disposition of cases arising in the city, and in order to more effectively
enforce the ordinances of the city. The municipal court shall become
a court of record from and after the 1st day of January, 2016, and
shall be known as the municipal court of record of the city.
(Ordinance 2015-11-09H, sec. 2,
adopted 11/9/15)
The municipal court of record is established pursuant to the
authority granted by the Uniform Municipal Courts of Record Act, V.T.C.A.,
Government Code, [chapter 30,] subchapter A (section 30.00001 et seq.).
The terms set forth therein are hereby adopted governing the operation
of the municipal court of record of the city.
(Ordinance 2015-11-09H, sec. 3,
adopted 11/9/15)
(a) The
municipal court of record shall have concurrent jurisdiction with
any justice court in any precinct in which the city is located in
criminal cases that arise within the city and are punishable by fine
only. The municipal court of record has the jurisdiction and authority
provided by V.T.C.A., Government Code, section 30.00005.
(b) The
municipal court of record shall have civil jurisdiction for the purpose
of enforcing the city’s ordinances enacted under subchapter
A, chapter 214, Local Government Code; subchapter E, chapter 683,
Transportation Code; concurrent jurisdiction with a district court
or a county court at law under subchapter B, chapter 54, Local Government
Code, 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 or nuisance abatement
ordinances; and authority to issue (i) search warrants for the purpose
of investigating health and safety or nuisance abatement ordinance
violations, and (ii) seizure warrants for the purpose of securing,
removing, or demolishing the offending property and removing the debris
from the premises.
(Ordinance 2015-11-09H, sec. 4,
adopted 11/9/15)
(a) Powers and duties.
The municipal judge shall have all
the powers and authority granted by state law and the ordinances of
this city and shall perform all the duties as prescribed by the laws
of the state and the ordinances of this city.
(b) Appointment of judge; term; compensation.
The office
of the judge of the municipal court shall be filled by appointment
by the city council to serve a term of two (2) years. The person appointed
to the office of the judge of the municipal court shall be the presiding
judge of the municipal court of record of the city. Compensation for
the office of municipal judge shall be set from time to time by the
city council.
(c) Qualifications.
The presiding judge and any appointed
alternate or temporary judges must be a licensed attorney in good
standing in the State of Texas, must have two (2) or more years of
experience in the practice of law in Texas, and must be a citizen
of the United States and a resident of the State of Texas.
(d) Appointment of temporary judges; compensation; term.
The city council shall from time to time appoint such qualified individuals
as may be necessary to serve in the office of the judge of the municipal
court if the presiding judge is unavailable, unable, or unwilling
to serve. The city council shall set the compensation of the alternate
or temporary judge or judges and the length of term of said judge(s).
(e) Removal.
The presiding judge and any alternate or temporary
judge of the office of the municipal judge may be removed:
(1) For incompetence, corruption, misconduct or malfeasance in office
after due notice and opportunity to be heard in his defense;
(2) By a city council resolution declaring a lack of confidence in the
presiding judge and/or any alternate or temporary judge, provided
that two-thirds (2/3) of the city council vote in favor of said resolution;
or
(3) As provided by section 1-a, article V, Texas Constitution or by the
procedure provided for the removal of the members of a municipal governing
body in subchapter B, chapter 21, Local Government Code.
(f) Vacancies.
In the event of any vacancy in the office
of presiding judge or temporary judge, the city council may appoint
any qualified person temporarily or until the end of the existing
term.
(g) Oath.
Prior to assuming office, the presiding judge
and any temporary judge of the office of municipal judge shall take
the oath of office required by the constitution and laws of the state.
(h) Current judges to continue in office.
The current municipal
judge shall continue in office through the expiration of his current
term and shall be the presiding judge of the municipal court of record.
Temporary judge(s) shall continue in office through the expiration
of their current terms.
(Ordinance 2015-11-09H, sec. 5,
adopted 11/9/15; Ordinance adopting
2018 Code)
(a) Appointment; supervision; removal.
The city administrator
shall appoint a clerk of the municipal court of record with the approval
of the city council. The clerk shall perform duties in accordance
with state law and city ordinances. During proceedings of the court,
the clerk and other court personnel shall serve at the direction of
the office of the judge of the municipal court. At all other times,
they shall serve at the direction of the city administrator or city
council, who shall have the authority to remove the court clerk or
other court personnel according to the rules set forth in the city’s
personnel policies.
(b) Duties and authority.
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. During the proceedings
of the court, the clerk and other court personnel shall serve at the
direction of the municipal judge.
(c) Maintenance of seal.
The court clerk shall acquire and
maintain a seal in conformance with state law for the municipal court
of record in the city.
(d) Selection of persons for jury service.
The court clerk
shall supervise the selection of persons for jury service in the municipal
court of record.
(Ordinance 2015-11-09H, sec. 6,
adopted 11/9/15; Ordinance adopting
2018 Code)
The city administrator or his/her designee shall appoint a court
reporter who must meet the qualifications provided for official court
reporters and will be compensated in accordance with the agreement
appointing the court reporter. The court reporter or court staff may
use written notes, transcribing equipment, video or audio recording
equipment, or a combination of those methods to record the proceedings
in the court. The court reporter is not required to be present during
the proceedings of the municipal court of record provided that the
proceedings that are required to be recorded are recorded by a good
quality electronic recording device. 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 court reporter shall prepare
the reporter’s record.
(Ordinance 2015-11-09H, sec. 7,
adopted 11/9/15)
The duly appointed city attorney shall serve as prosecutor in
the municipal court. The city council shall prescribe the compensation
for the prosecutor, which shall be paid out of the city treasury.
(Ordinance 2015-11-09H, sec. 8,
adopted 11/9/15)
The chief of police or his designee shall serve as bailiff to
preserve order and decorum while court is in session.
(Ordinance 2015-11-09H, sec. 9,
adopted 11/9/15)
The chief of police or his designee shall serve as warrant officer
to serve all process or papers issued by the municipal court.
(Ordinance 2015-11-09H, sec. 10,
adopted 11/9/15)
(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 section 44.01, Texas Code of Criminal Procedure, as
amended. The county courts at law have jurisdiction of appeals from
the municipal court of record.
(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 in the amount adopted 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, 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.
(Ordinance 2015-11-09H, sec. 11,
adopted 11/9/15; Ordinance adopting
2018 Code)