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 October 1, 1995, and shall be designated the River Oaks Municipal Court of Record No. 1.
(Ordinance 462 adopted 9/12/95)
This municipal court of record is established pursuant to the authority granted in subchapter Q of chapter 30 of the Government Code of the state, and the terms set forth therein are hereby adopted governing the operation of said court.
(Ordinance 462 adopted 9/12/95; Ordinance adopting Code)
(a) 
The municipal court of record shall be presided over by a municipal judge appointed by the city council who shall serve for two-year terms or until a successor judge is duly qualified and sworn in. The term of the judge shall expire if the court of record herein established is replaced by a joint court of record pursuant to section 30.00653 et seq. of the Texas Government Code. The municipal judge must be a licensed attorney in good standing in the state and must have two or more years of experience in the practice of law in the state. The judge must be a citizen of the United States and of the state. The city council may appoint one or more similarly qualified persons to serve as alternate or associate municipal judge when the municipal judge is temporarily absent for any reason, or to serve under the direction of the municipal court judge.
(b) 
The judge as an alternative may appoint a qualified alternate person temporarily for a period up to 30 days to serve as an alternate or associate municipal judge when the municipal judge and alternate judges are both temporarily absent at the same time. Any temporary appointments made by the judge are valid only for 30 days without city council approval.
(Ordinance 848-2010 adopted 7/13/10)
The city council may appoint one or more magistrates who need not possess all the qualifications necessary to be a municipal court judge of the court of record. The magistrate may conduct an arraignment, hold an indigency hearing, accept a plea, sign a judgment, set the amount of bond and perform other functions under article 15.17 of the Code of Criminal Procedure. A magistrate may not preside over the court or hear contested cases.
(Ordinance 462 adopted 9/12/95)
The city manager shall appoint a clerk, deputy clerks and other court personnel who shall perform duties to the municipal court in accordance with statutes, the city charter and city ordinances, whom have been selected by the city council as the governing body and qualified by the presiding judge, or municipal judge if there is no presiding judge.
(Ordinance 1239-2019, sec. 38, adopted 8/13/19)
The municipal court clerk shall appoint a court reporter who must meet the qualifications provided by law for official court reporters. The court reporter may use written notes, transcribing equipment, video or audio recording equipment, or a combination of those methods to record the proceedings of the court. The court reporter is not required to record testimony in any case unless the judge or one of the parties requests a record in writing, and files the request with the court before trial. If a record is made, it shall be kept for the twenty-day period beginning the day after the last day of the court proceeding, trial or denial of motion for new trial, whichever occurs last. The court reporter is not required to be present during proceedings of the municipal court of record, provided that proceedings that are required to be recorded are recorded by a good quality electronic recording device.
(Ordinance 462 adopted 9/12/95)