1. Texas Court System
GOVT 2306, Module 9

2. Texas Court System

3. Three Levels of Courts
Appellate courts. The Texas Courts of Appeals, Texas Court of Criminal Appeals, and Texas Supreme Court constitute the state’s appellate court system.
District courts. State district courts are the general trial courts of the state, hearing major civil disputes and trying felony criminal cases.
Local courts. Municipal courts, justice of the peace (JP) courts, and county courts hear relatively minor civil cases and misdemeanor criminal disputes.
Please note: You will be expected to know what type of court hears what type of case.

4. Trials and Appeals Trials Appeals
The purpose of a trial is to determine the facts of a dispute. Is the defendant guilty? Is the defendant liable? What were the terms of the contract? Trials involve lawyers, a judge, maybe a jury, evidence, and witnesses.
The purpose of an appeal is to determine whether a trial court followed the law in reaching its decision. An appeal is based on the record of a trial court. Appellate procedures are often heard by panels of judges. They involve lawyers, legal briefs, and legal arguments, but not witnesses, juries, evidence, etc.

5. Local Courts

6. Municipal courts hear only criminal cases of the least serious type.
The Texas legislature has created municipal courts in every incorporated city in the state. They try relatively minor criminal matters. Municipal courts have exclusive jurisdiction over cases involving violations of city ordinances, which are laws enacted by the governing body of a municipality.
Municipal courts hear only criminal cases of the least serious type.

7. Justice of the Peace (JP) Courts
The Texas Constitution requires each county to operate at least one JP court and allows larger counties to have as many as 16.

8. JP Court Criminal jurisdiction
Most criminal cases heard in JP court involve Class C misdemeanor traffic offenses, with the rest concerning non-traffic Class C misdemeanors, such as game law violations, public intoxication, disorderly conduct, and some thefts.
JP courts hear cases against truckers accused of overloading their vehicles.

9. JP Court is small claims court
Individuals with civil disputes valued at no more than $10,000 can file suit in JP court and present their case to the justice of the peace without aid of an attorney. JP courts also conduct civil proceedings dealing with mortgage foreclosures, property liens, and forcible entry and detainer suits.

10. Forcible Entry and Detainer
Forcible entry and detainer is the legal procedure landlords use to evict tenants who are behind on their rent.

11. County Courts Constitutional Courts at Law
Each of the state's 254 counties has a constitutional county court, so called because it is required by the Texas Constitution.
The Texas legislature has created 227 additional county courts known as statutory county courts (because they are established by statute) and 18 statutory probate courts to supplement the constitutional county courts. They operate primarily in urban areas.

12. County Courts’ Criminal Jurisdiction
County courts try criminal cases involving violations of Class A and Class B misdemeanors. Theft, worthless checks, and driving while intoxicated or under the influence of drugs (DWI/DUID) are the most common offenses.

13. County Courts’ Civil Jurisdiction
The civil jurisdiction of the constitutional county courts extends to disputes in which the amount of money at stake is between $200 and $5,000. The legislature has authorized county courts at law to hear disputes involving much greater amounts.

14. District Courts
Texas has 456 district courts. Each court serves a specific geographic area, which, in rural areas, may encompass several counties. Harris County alone has nearly 60 district courts, including civil, criminal, family, and juvenile district courts.

15. District Court Jurisdiction
District courts are the basic trial courts of the state of Texas. They hear all felony cases and have jurisdiction in civil matters involving $200 or more, sharing jurisdiction on smaller sums with JP and county courts.
Note: The civil jurisdictions of JP, county, and district courts overlap. In practice, people are smart to use JP courts for small amounts. They must use district courts for large amounts.

16. Quiz
Your tenant has stopped paying rent. Which court can order the deadbeat evicted?
Municipal court
County court
District court
JP court
The answer is D.

17. Appellate Courts
The courts of appeals, Texas Court of Criminal Appeals, and Texas Supreme Court constitute the state's appellate court system. They consider appeals filed by litigants who lose in lower courts.

18. Courts of appeals
Texas has 14 courts of appeals, each serving a specific geographic area called a court of appeals district. The number of justices in each court varies from three to 13, depending on the workload. Altogether, 80 justices staff the 14 courts of appeals.

19. Jurisdiction
Each of the courts of appeals has jurisdiction on appeals from trial courts located in its district. The courts of appeals hear both civil and criminal appeals, except death penalty appeals, which are considered by the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals.

20. Procedures
The justices on each court of appeals hear cases in panels of at least three justices, with decisions made by majority vote.

21. Texas Court of Criminal Appeals
The Texas Court of Criminal Appeals, which meets in Austin, is the court of last resort for all criminal cases in the state. It has nine judges, one presiding judge and eight additional judges. They sit en banc (as a group), with all nine judges hearing a case.

22. Jurisdiction
The Texas Court of Criminal Appeals considers appeals brought from the courts of appeals and death penalty cases appealed directly from district courts.
The Texas Court of Criminal Appeals is the state’s “supreme court” for criminal cases.

23. Texas Supreme Court
The Texas Supreme Court, which sits in Austin, has nine members--one chief justice and eight associate justices—who decide cases en banc by majority vote. It hears only civil appeals.
The Texas Supreme Court is the state’s “supreme court” for civil cases only.

24. Which court hears this case?
Rosa spent $1,500 bailing her boyfriend Hubert out of jail. Rosa says it was a loan, but Hubert says it was a gift.
Edgar is arrested for marijuana possession, a Class B misdemeanor.
Edgar is convicted and wants to appeal the conviction.
Freddy stood to inherit millions after the murder of his parents, but the police are suspicious that Freddy hired an ex-con to do the dirty deed.
Freddy is convicted and given the death penalty. The appeal is automatic.
Lois was rushing back to Houston after a fun weekend in Austin when she was stopped by a county sheriff’s deputy and given a speeding ticket. JP
County
Court of appeals
District
Texas Court of Criminal Appeals
JP Court

25. Which Court Hears the Case?
Uncle Rufus, visiting from the country, helpfully raked the leaves. The trouble came when he tried to burn them and the police gave him a ticket for unlawful burning in the city limits.
Irma’s hip replacement has caused her nothing but pain and now she believes that it was poorly designed. She is contacting a lawyer and intends to ask for hundreds of thousands of dollars in damages.
The jury awarded Irma $550,000 in damages. The company is appealing.
Lillian is arrested for shoplifting, a Class B misdemeanor.
Chuck and Ursula are divorcing after 15 years of marriage. Each wants custody of their two children.
Municipal
District Court
Court of appeals
County
District

26. Under what circumstances can the rulings of the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals and the Texas Supreme Court be appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court?
The U.S. Supreme Court will hear appeals from state courts when issues are raised involving federal law or the U.S. Constitution.

27. Quiz
A convicted murdered is given the death penalty. Which of the following courts can hear the appeal?
Texas Supreme Court
Texas Court of Criminal Appeals
Texas Court of Appeals
Any of the above
The answer is B.

28. What You Have Learned
What are the procedures followed by trial and appellate courts in Texas?
What are the various courts in Texas and what types of cases does each court hear?