(A) In accordance
with the provisions of the City Charter and applicable state law,
there is hereby created a Municipal Court of Record of the City, comprised
of as many divisions as the City Council deems necessary.
(B) Each
Municipal Court division shall have and exercise concurrent jurisdiction
with the other Municipal Court divisions, the jurisdiction being that
which is conferred on all Municipal Courts by state law.
(C) The
Municipal Court divisions may be in concurrent and continuous session,
either day or night.
(D) The
Municipal Court of Record of the City, including any and all divisions,
has, without limitation:
(1) The
jurisdiction provided by law for Municipal Courts;
(2) Jurisdiction
over criminal cases arising under ordinances authorized by section
217.042 of the Texas Local Government Code;
(3) Civil
jurisdiction to enforce a municipal ordinance adopted under subchapter
A, chapter 214 of the Texas Local Government Code;
(4) Civil
jurisdiction to enforce a municipal ordinance adopted under subchapter
E, chapter 683 of the Texas Transportation Code;
(5) Concurrent
jurisdiction with a district court or a county court at law under
subchapter B, chapter 54 of the Texas Local Government Code, within
the municipality’s territorial limits and property owned by
the municipality located in the municipality’s extraterritorial
jurisdiction for the purpose of enforcing health and safety and nuisance
abatement ordinances;
(6) Appellate
jurisdiction from administrative hearings conducted under section
54.044 of the Texas Local Government Code, a determination made by
the Supervisor of Animal Services under subchapter B, chapter 822,
Texas Health and Safety Code, or as otherwise provided by law; and
(7) 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 4214, sec. 1, adopted 5/17/88; Ordinance 6009, sec. 4, adopted 6/6/06; Ordinance 6534, sec. 8, adopted 4/3/12)
(A) A Municipal
Court Judge shall preside over each of the Municipal Court divisions.
(B) There
will be a Chief Judge of the Municipal Court, who will distribute
cases among the Municipal Court divisions. The Chief Judge may transfer
cases from one Municipal Court division to another, and may assign
judges to preside over various divisions.
(C) Associate
Municipal Court Judges and temporary Municipal Court Judges may be
appointed as the City Council deems necessary.
(D) A Municipal
Court Judge may transfer cases and preside over any of division of
the Municipal Court, unless such action is prohibited by directive
of the chief judge.
(Ordinance 5148, sec. 1, adopted 1/20/98)
(A) There
shall be levied and collected from the defendant all necessary and
reasonable expenses incurred in any arrest for the defendant’s
failure to appear on a personal bond.
(B) In all
cases wherein defendants are to appear before the Municipal Court
of the City and they fail to appear as required by law or have appeared
in court and they fail to abide by court order, a warrant of arrest
or capias shall be issued. After issuance and service of warrant or
capias and a determination of guilty, a special expense, not to exceed
the sum allowed by law per warrant or capias, shall be taxed against
said defendant as cost to be paid into the City treasury for the use
and benefit of the City.
(C) Collection
of the fines and special expenses provided for herein shall be by
execution against the property of the defendant, imprisonment of the
defendant, or both.
(D) Security
fee:
(1) There shall be levied and collected from a defendant convicted for a misdemeanor offense in the Municipal Court of Record a security fee in the amount designated in the Master Fee and Rate Schedule, Article VII, Section
10.85, of Chapter
10, as a cost of court.
(2) In
this subsection, a person is considered convicted if:
(a) A sentence is imposed on the person;
(b) The person receives community supervision, including deferred adjudication;
or
(c) The court defers final disposition of the person’s case.
(3) It
shall be the duty of the court clerk to collect the costs for deposit
in a fund to be known as the Municipal Court building security fund,
which may be used only to finance the following items when used for
the purpose of providing security services for buildings housing a
Municipal Court:
(a) The purchase or repair of x-ray machines and conveying systems;
(b) Handheld metal detectors;
(c) Walk through metal detectors;
(d) Identification cards and systems;
(e) Electronic locking and surveillance equipment;
(f) Security personnel during times when they are providing appropriate
security services;
(h) Confiscated weapon inventory and tracking systems; or
(i) Locks, chains, or other security hardware.
(4) The
Municipal Court building security fund shall be administered by or
under direction of the City Council.
(E) Technology
fund:
(1) There is hereby created and established a Municipal Court technology fund pursuant to article 102.0172 of the Code of Criminal Procedure. A defendant convicted for a misdemeanor offense in the Municipal Court of Record shall be assessed and shall pay a technology fee in the amount designated in the Master Fee and Rate Schedule, Article VII, Section
10.85, of Chapter
10, as a cost of court. For purposes of this subsection, a defendant is considered convicted if a sentence is imposed on the defendant, the defendant is placed on community supervision (including deferred adjudication community supervision), or the court defers final disposition of the defendant’s case.
(2) Funds
collected under this subsection shall be maintained in a separate
fund to be known as the Municipal Court technology fund. The Municipal
Court technology fund shall be used only to finance the purchase of
technological enhancements for the Garland Municipal Court of Record
including:
(g) Electronic ticket writers; or
(h) Docket management systems.
(Ordinance 4925, sec. 1, adopted 12/19/95; Ordinance 5438, sec. 1, adopted 2/1/00; Ordinance 5906, sec. 1, adopted 6/21/05; Ordinance 7363 adopted 9/6/2022)
(A) The
marshals, under the direction and supervision of the city attorney,
shall provide security support for municipal facilities, serve as
bailiffs of the municipal court, transfer prisoners being held on
city warrants, execute warrants of arrest, subpoenas, capias and summons,
and such other legal process issuing out of the municipal court, and
perform all other duties and functions permitted by law and approved
by the city attorney.
(B) The
marshals shall be selected and appointed by the city attorney, shall
meet all qualifications necessary to be certified as peace officers
by the state commission on law enforcement officer standards and education,
and shall hold a commission as a state peace officer.
(Ordinance 4821, sec. 1, adopted 11/1/94; Ordinance 6384, sec. 1, adopted 3/23/10)
(A) Court
reporter need not be present at court proceeding.
Instead
of providing a court reporter at trial or during any other court proceeding,
proceedings in a Municipal Court of Record may be recorded by a good-quality
recording device. The recording may be made by the judge, or by an
employee of the Municipal Court designated by the court for that purpose.
Proceedings which are appealed shall be transcribed from the recording
by an official court reporter.
(Ordinance 5148, sec. 2, adopted 1/20/98)
(A) Definitions.
In this section:
(1) Case
shall mean an individual judicial
action, criminal or otherwise, filed in the Municipal Court system.
(2) Unadjudicated case
shall mean a case
that does not have a final judgment.
(B) Unadjudicated
cases.
Except as provided in subsection
(C) below, all unadjudicated cases that have been on file in the Municipal Court for more than five years may be dismissed by motion of the prosecutor for administrative convenience.
(C) Family
violence.
A case filed in the Municipal Court alleging an offense involving “family violence” within the meaning of section 71.004 of the Texas Family Code shall not be dismissed under subsection
(B) except on motion of the State or defendant approved by the Court.
(D) Adjudicated
cases.
A judgment pro fina less than $100.00 that has
remained unpaid for a of period five years or more may be purged from
the courts records for administrative convenience.
(Ordinance 5784, sec. 1, adopted 12/2/03; Ordinance 6841, sec. 1, adopted 6/21/16)