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)