Role of Municipal Courts in Municipalities and the Judicial System
More Texans come into personal contact with municipal courts than all other Texas
courts combined. Whether they are jurors, witnesses, or defendants, the public impression
of the entire Texas judicial system is largely dependant upon their experience in
municipal court.
State records indicate that in 2010 there were 917 municipal courts and approximately
1,500 municipal judges. Municipal courts preside over criminal misdemeanors
punishable by fine-only. In 2010, 7,561,659 cases were filed in municipal courts in
Texas. Municipal courts held over 3,843 jury trials. Municipal judges issued over 2.75
million arrest warrants and almost 9,529 search warrants. These numbers are constantly
growing. Municipal judges make-up 39% of the entire state's judiciary, 58% of municipal
judges have attended law school.
There is tremendous diversity among municipal courts and municipal judges in Texas.
Texas municipal courts serve some of America's largest cities and a plethora of classic
small Texas towns. They serve populations both huge and very small. They work with
police departments numbering in the thousands and serve cities with no police at all.
Yet, regardless of the city's size, the municipal court is the court the average citizen is
most likely to encounter as a defendant or court participant. Thus, in each community, the
municipal court's role in our system of justice is crucial.
The powers of all courts in the United States come from the U.S. and State Constitutions.
Under the 14th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution all criminal defendants, including
those charged with fine-only offenses, have the right to due process of law that includes a
fair and impartial judge.
Both the Federal and Texas Constitutions call for three branches of government. The
Legislative Branch -- elected representatives of the people-- creates laws. The Executive
Branch-- Presidents, Governors, and other executive officers-- are elected or appointed to
enforce the law and provide executive authority. The most common executive public
servant is the peace officer. Finally the Judicial Branch - courts - resolve disputes
between citizens and stand between the individual and the power of the government.
The concepts of "separation of powers" and "checks and balances" appear in both the
U.S. and Texas Constitutions. Although cities or municipalities may not strictly follow
this set-up, the constitutional mandate of Judicial Independence does apply to municipal
courts.
Neither municipal courts nor municipal ordinances are the product of municipal
sovereignty. Municipal courts originate in the Texas Constitution and Legislative
enactment. The municipal court is a state court and its judges are controlled by the same
rules as all other state judges.
The requirement of an independent judiciary is clearly set forth in the Preamble to the
Texas Code of Judicial Conduct. It reads, "Our legal system is based on the principle that
an independent, fair and competent judiciary will interpret and apply the laws that govern
us." While there is often a temptation for judges or municipal governments to feel a
certain ownership of the municipal court, the municipal court, like all courts, is governed
by the rule of law by and for the people of the State of Texas.
One of the most common intrusions into the independence of the court is in the
imposition of quotas or evaluation of the court based on revenue generation. Section
720.002 of the Texas Transportation Code prohibits the use of citation or income quotas
to "evaluate, promote, compensate or discipline an officer or municipal judge." The
creation or use of such a plan is grounds for removal of the city official that promulgates
or sponsors it.
The municipal prosecutor represents the executive branch of government in municipal
court. Article 45.201 of the Texas Code of Criminal Procedure provides that "all
prosecutions in a municipal court shall be conducted by the city attorney or by a deputy
city attorney." That section also provides that the county attorney may volunteer to take
the role without compensation. Finally, the section goes on to instruct prosecutors that
their primary duty is not to convict, but to see that justice is done. All other Texas
prosecutors share this same duty. The prosecutor is the representative of the State as an
agent of social control, not a local revenue raiser. Thus, the prosecutor's duty is social
control by enforcement of criminal law, not creating revenue.
Prosecutors are responsible for deciding what charges to bring, the language used to
charge the defendant in the complaint, when to recommend dismissals, when to plea
bargain with defendants, when to interview witnesses, what witnesses to call, when to try
cases before the court, and how to advise police on how to best proceed in cases brought
to that prosecutor.
The judge on the other hand, plays the part of the impartial arbiter of facts and law.
The municipal judge has three separate kinds of duties: judicial duties, administrative
duties, and magistrate duties.
In each of these roles, judges have an obligation to remain competent in the law, to not
allow outside influence on their discretion, to be fair, to maintain propriety, and to avoid
the appearance of impropriety.
Judges have great power, and with that power comes great responsibility.
Judicial duties include requesting and accepting pleas, making and rendering judgments,
setting fines, choosing between legal alternatives, making decisions of law, making
decisions of fact in pre-trial matters and in trials before the judge, instructing juries,
ruling on objections at trial, setting or forfeiting bail, granting or denying motions,
granting and revoking deferred dispositions, and making and executing decisions on fine
collection.
Judicial duties are all about the difficult job of making decisions in a fair and just way
under the rule of law.
Administrative duties are often shared with court clerks and other court support
personnel. Such duties must be diligently and promptly discharged, as required by the
Code of Judicial Conduct. Such duties include management of dockets in order to
promptly dispose of cases in the court, guiding the operation of the court and its staff,
dealing with financial reports and money, preparing budgets, coordinating support by
warrant officers who serve court documents and warrants.
Municipal courts often employ a good number of people in the day-to-day operations of
the court, requiring much of a judge's time be spent in judicial administration.
Administrative duties are shared with clerks and other support staff. Judges, clerks, and
support staff must not only understand and be competent in issues of criminal law and
criminal procedure, but also must possess a number of administrative and technical
abilities. The sizable sums of money which go through a court, the tremendous number of
cases in the court, and the complexity of administration of a court call not only for
knowledgeable and well trained judges, but also knowledgeable and well trained clerks,
administrators, financial specialist, warrant officers and other support staff.
All municipal judges are also magistrates under Texas law. Magistrates are required by
Texas Code of Criminal Procedure Article 2.10 "to preserve the peace within their
jurisdictions by the use of all lawful means; to issue all process intended to aid in
preventing and suppressing crime; to cause the arrest of offenders by the use of lawful
means in order that they may be brought to punishment."
The magistrate must be fair and detached, but does not serve as a referee as much as a
quality control officer. The primary duty of the magistrate is to make a fair determination
of whether probable cause exists in order to empower police to make searches, arrest,
hold persons in custody, or limit defendant's conduct while on bond.
Magistrates may issue warrants for any offenses that occurs in their countywide
jurisdiction. This includes felonies and jailable misdemeanors. The officer desiring an
arrest warrant must present the magistrate with an affidavit that contains in its four
corners probable cause to believe that a particular defendant has committed a specific
crime.
Likewise the magistrate may issue search warrants, also based on affidavits containing
probable cause. Municipal courts of record may issue any search warrant. Non-record
courts are prohibited from issuing "mere evidence" warrants. This means they may issue
warrants for all kinds of contraband, but not for items that may be seized solely because
they are evidence in a crime.
Magistrates may also issue temporary mental commitments. Here, municipal judges
serving as magistrates, play a key role in individual and public safety.
Much of a magistrate's time is spent in jails and detention facilities performing jail
arraignments or "magistration". Article 15.17 of the Code of Criminal Procedure requires
this procedure on all arrests for criminal charges. The hearing must take place without
unnecessary delay and in no event more than 48 hours after the person is arrested. This
often requires that the magistrate work at night and on weekends. The magistrate must
find probable cause to continue the detention of the defendant for a criminal offense, set
or deny bond, warn the defendant of important constitutional rights, and assist the
defendant in requesting appointment of counsel where appropriate.
The magistrate may also set conditions on bail, including an interlock device on the
ignitions of persons accused of repeated violations of DWI laws.
In cases of family violence, the magistrate may also be called on to issue Magistrate's
Orders of Emergency Protection. These orders prohibit the family violence defendant
from contacting or doing further harm to their alleged victims.
The magistrate also has a continuing duty to provide examining trials to persons they
"magistrate" in jail. This duty exists on the request of the defendant up until the defendant
is formally charged with the offense in a court with jurisdiction of the case. An
examining trial is an adversary hearing where the prosecutor must establish probable
cause in a trial like setting.
A magistrate may also be called on to give warnings to juvenile offenders before they
may give confessions while in police custody. The magistrate must go to a designated
juvenile processing office, give the juvenile warnings concerning their constitutional
rights, and determine that the juvenile understands their rights and is voluntarily and
intelligently waiving them.
Errors by magistrates can result in the suppression of evidence or confessions, the release
of the defendant, or law suits under federal law.
As a magistrate, the municipal judge acts as the front line of the judiciary in the criminal
justice system. These duties can make up all or none of a municipal judge's activities. It is
essential that the municipal judge fit into the local judicial system as a whole. This means
municipal judges and courts must coordinate with county courts, Jails, County and
Municipal law enforcement. This is best accomplished by good communications and
often requires complicated comprehensive interlocal intergovernmental agreements.
Although the offenses heard in municipal court are not as likely to get steady press
coverage or become best selling crime novels, they are non-the-less very important to our
communities. Imagine a community with no traffic enforcement, where public
drunkenness and disorder rule the day, where minor thefts and assaults go unpunished,
nuisances run unabated, minors drink and smoke without fear of prosecution. Simply put,
municipal courts make our communities better places to live. They are a vital branch of
municipal government and the workhorse of the Texas judiciary.
If the experience of citizens in those courts is positive, the image of the municipality and
the criminal justice system is enhanced. Our municipal courts should be a symbol of the
rule of law for the benefit of the people of the State of Texas.