By: Fletcher H.B. No. 2647
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to trials for misdemeanor cases.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Article 4.12, Code of Criminal Procedure, is
amended to read as follows:
Art. 4.12. MISDEMEANOR CASES; PRECINCT IN WHICH DEFENDANT
TO BE TRIED IN JUSTICE COURT. (a) Except as otherwise provided by
this article, a misdemeanor case to be tried in justice court shall
be tried:
(1) in the precinct in which the offense was
committed;
(2) in the precinct in which the defendant or any of
the defendants reside; [or]
(3) with the written consent of the state and each
defendant or the defendant's attorney, in any other precinct within
the county; or
(4) in a county with a population of 3.3 million or
more, in the precinct in which the offense was committed or an
adjacent precinct.
(b) In any misdemeanor case in which the offense was
committed in a precinct where there is no qualified justice court,
then trial shall be held:
(1) in the next adjacent precinct in the same county
which has a duly qualified justice court; or
(2) in the precinct in which the defendant may reside.
(c) In any misdemeanor case in which each justice of the
peace in the precinct where the offense was committed is
disqualified for any reason, such case may be tried in the next
adjoining precinct in the same county having a duly qualified
justice of the peace.
(d) A defendant who is taken before a magistrate in
accordance with Article 15.18 may waive trial by jury and enter a
written plea of guilty or nolo contendere.
SECTION 2. This Act takes effect September 1, 2011.