Texas 2015 - 84th Regular

Texas House Bill HB2657 Compare Versions

Only one version of the bill is available at this time.

Old	New	Differences
1	1	84R7627 LED-F
2	2	By: Moody H.B. No. 2657
3	3
4	4
5	5	A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
6	6	AN ACT
7	7	relating to jurisdiction and court administration of the El Paso
8	8	Criminal Law Magistrate Court.
9	9	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
10	10	SECTION 1. Section 54.732, Government Code, is amended to
11	11	read as follows:
12	12	Sec. 54.732. CREATION. The El Paso Criminal Law Magistrate
13	13	Court is a court having the jurisdiction provided by this
14	14	subchapter over offenses allegedly committed in El Paso County
15	15	[except for that portion of the county in the corporate limits of
16	16	Vinton, Texas].
17	17	SECTION 2. Section 54.733, Government Code, is amended by
18	18	adding Subsection (j) to read as follows:
19	19	(j) The criminal law magistrate court has concurrent
20	20	criminal jurisdiction with the justice courts located in El Paso
21	21	County.
22	22	SECTION 3. Section 54.735, Government Code, is amended to
23	23	read as follows:
24	24	Sec. 54.735. POWERS AND DUTIES. (a) The criminal law
25	25	magistrate court or a judge of the criminal law magistrate court may
26	26	issue writs of injunction and all other writs necessary for the
27	27	enforcement of the jurisdiction of the court and may issue
28	28	misdemeanor writs of habeas corpus in cases in which the offense
29	29	charged is within the jurisdiction of the court or of any other
30	30	court of inferior jurisdiction in the county. The court and the
31	31	judge may punish for contempt as provided by law for district
32	32	courts. A judge of the criminal law magistrate court has all other
33	33	powers, duties, immunities, and privileges provided by law for:
34	34	(1) justices of the peace when acting in a Class C
35	35	misdemeanor case;
36	36	(2) county court judges when acting in a Class A or
37	37	Class B misdemeanor case; and
38	38	(3) [for] district court judges when acting in a
39	39	felony case.
40	40	(b) A judge of the criminal law magistrate court may hold an
41	41	indigency hearing and a capias pro fine hearing. When acting as the
42	42	judge who issued the capias pro fine, a judge of the criminal law
43	43	magistrate court may make all findings of fact and law required of
44	44	the judge who issued the capias pro fine. In conducting a hearing
45	45	under this subsection, the judge of the criminal law magistrate
46	46	court is empowered to make all findings of fact and to issue all
47	47	orders necessary to properly dispose of the capias pro fine or
48	48	indigency hearing in accordance with the provisions of the Code of
49	49	Criminal Procedure applicable to a misdemeanor or felony case of
50	50	the same type and level.
51	51	SECTION 4. Section 54.736(b), Government Code, is amended
52	52	to read as follows:
53	53	(b) The council of judges shall ensure that the criminal law
54	54	magistrate court gives preference to magistrate duties, as those
55	55	duties apply to the county jail inmate population first and then to
56	56	newly detained individuals, until the commissioners court provides
57	57	funds for more than one judge to sit on the criminal law magistrate
58	58	court.
59	59	SECTION 5. Section 54.737(c), Government Code, is amended
60	60	to read as follows:
61	61	(c) The rules must provide that[:
62	62	[(1) a criminal law magistrate judge may not, on a
63	63	regular basis, hold court or perform magistrate duties after 7 p.m.
64	64	or before 7 a.m.; and
65	65	[(2)] a criminal law magistrate judge may only release
66	66	a defendant under Article 17.031, Code of Criminal Procedure, under
67	67	guidelines established by the council of judges.
68	68	SECTION 6. Sections 54.738(a) and (c), Government Code, are
69	69	amended to read as follows:
70	70	(a) Except as provided by Subsection (b) or local
71	71	administrative rules, the local administrative judge or a judge of
72	72	the criminal law magistrate court may transfer between courts a
73	73	case that is pending in the court of any magistrate in the criminal
74	74	law magistrate court's jurisdiction if the case is:
75	75	(1) an [any] unindicted felony case;
76	76	(2) a[,] Class A [misdemeanor case,] or Class B
77	77	misdemeanor case if an information has not been filed; or
78	78	(3) a Class C misdemeanor [and if the] case [is pending
79	79	in the court of any magistrate in the criminal law magistrate
80	80	court's jurisdiction].
81	81	(c) Except as provided by Subsection (d) or local
82	82	administrative rules, the local administrative judge may assign a
83	83	judge on the council of judges, a judge of the criminal law
84	84	magistrate court, a retired judge, or any other magistrate to act as
85	85	presiding judge in a case that is pending in the court of any
86	86	magistrate in the criminal law magistrate court's jurisdiction if
87	87	the case is:
88	88	(1) an [any] unindicted felony case;
89	89	(2) a[,] Class A [misdemeanor case,] or Class B
90	90	misdemeanor case if an information has not been filed; or
91	91	(3) a Class C misdemeanor [and if the] case [is pending
92	92	in the court of any magistrate in the criminal law magistrate
93	93	court's jurisdiction].
94	94	SECTION 7. Section 54.739(d), Government Code, is amended
95	95	to read as follows:
96	96	(d) A case assigned under this subchapter to the criminal
97	97	law magistrate court from a district court, [or] a county court at
98	98	law, or a justice court remains on the docket of the assigning court
99	99	and in the assigning court's jurisdiction.
100	100	SECTION 8. Section 54.741, Government Code, is amended to
101	101	read as follows:
102	102	Sec. 54.741. FORFEITURES. Bail bonds and personal bonds
103	103	may be forfeited by the criminal law magistrate court in the manner
104	104	provided by Chapter 22, Code of Criminal Procedure, and those
105	105	forfeitures shall be filed with:
106	106	(1) the district clerk if associated with a felony
107	107	case;
108	108	(2) [, except in cases in which] the county clerk if
109	109	associated with a Class A or Class B misdemeanor case; or
110	110	(3) the same justice court clerk associated with the
111	111	Class C misdemeanor case in which the bond was originally filed [is
112	112	the clerk under this subchapter].
113	113	SECTION 9. Section 54.742, Government Code, is amended by
114	114	adding Subsection (c) to read as follows:
115	115	(c) When a justice clerk is the clerk under this subchapter,
116	116	the justice clerk shall charge the same court costs for cases filed
117	117	in, transferred to, or assigned to the criminal law magistrate
118	118	court that are charged in the justice courts.
119	119	SECTION 10. Section 54.744, Government Code, is amended to
120	120	read as follows:
121	121	Sec. 54.744. JUDGES ON EL PASO COUNCIL OF JUDGES. Unless
122	122	the local rules of administration provide otherwise, the judges on
123	123	the El Paso Council of Judges and the judges on the criminal law
124	124	magistrate court may sit and act for any magistrate in El Paso
125	125	County on any unindicted felony or Class A or B misdemeanor case if
126	126	an information has not been filed or any Class C misdemeanor case
127	127	filed in a justice court.
128	128	SECTION 11. Section 54.745(a), Government Code, is amended
129	129	to read as follows:
130	130	(a) As a condition for a defendant to enter any pretrial
131	131	diversion program, including a behavioral modification program, a
132	132	health care program, a specialty court program, or the functional
133	133	equivalent that may be operated in El Paso County by El Paso County,
134	134	Emergence Health Network, the City of El Paso, the West Texas
135	135	Regional Adult Probation Department, a community partner approved
136	136	by the council of judges, or a county or district attorney of El
137	137	Paso County, a defendant must file in the court in which the charges
138	138	are pending a sworn waiver of speedy trial motion requesting the
139	139	court to approve without a hearing defendant's waiver of his speedy
140	140	trial rights under the constitution and other law. If the court
141	141	approves the waiver, the defendant is eligible for consideration
142	142	for acceptance into a pretrial diversion program or equivalent
143	143	program.
144	144	SECTION 12. Sections 54.746(d) and (e), Government Code,
145	145	are amended to read as follows:
146	146	(d) A judge of a county court at law in El Paso County shall
147	147	exercise jurisdiction granted by Subsection (a) over felony
148	148	indictments and felony informations and justice court cases
149	149	[information] only as a judge presiding for the court in which the
150	150	felony or Class C misdemeanor is pending and only if the El Paso
151	151	Council of Judges has so provided in the local administrative rules
152	152	by a unanimous vote. The exercise of this jurisdiction outside El
153	153	Paso County is as provided by Chapter 74 and other law.
154	154	(e) A judge of a district court in El Paso County shall
155	155	exercise jurisdiction granted by Subsection (a) over misdemeanor
156	156	information and justice court cases only as a judge presiding for
157	157	the court in which the misdemeanor is pending and only if the
158	158	council of judges has so provided in the local administrative rules
159	159	by a unanimous vote. The exercise of this jurisdiction outside El
160	160	Paso County is as provided by the Court Administration Act (Chapter
161	161	74) and other law.
162	162	SECTION 13. Section 54.750, Government Code, is amended by
163	163	adding Subsection (d) to read as follows:
164	164	(d) When conducting a capias pro fine hearing for any court,
165	165	the criminal law magistrate court acts in the same capacity and with
166	166	the same authority as the judge who issued the capias pro fine.
167	167	SECTION 14. Sections 54.753(a) and (b), Government Code,
168	168	are amended to read as follows:
169	169	(a) The district clerk serves as clerk of the criminal law
170	170	magistrate court, except that:
171	171	(1) after a Class A or Class B misdemeanor information
172	172	is filed in the county court at law and assigned to the criminal law
173	173	magistrate court, the county clerk serves as clerk for that
174	174	misdemeanor case; and
175	175	(2) after a Class C misdemeanor is filed in a justice
176	176	court and assigned to the criminal law magistrate court, the
177	177	originating justice court clerk serves as clerk for that
178	178	misdemeanor case.
179	179	(b) The district clerk shall establish a docket and keep the
180	180	minutes for the cases filed in or transferred to the criminal law
181	181	magistrate court. The district clerk shall perform any other duties
182	182	that local administrative rules require in connection with the
183	183	implementation of this subchapter. The local administrative judge
184	184	shall ensure that the duties required under this subsection are
185	185	performed. To facilitate the duties associated with serving as the
186	186	clerk of the criminal law magistrate court, the district clerk and
187	187	the deputies of the district clerk may serve as deputy justice
188	188	clerks and deputy county clerks at the discretion of the district
189	189	clerk.
190	190	SECTION 15. Section 54.759, Government Code, is amended to
191	191	read as follows:
192	192	Sec. 54.759. LOCATION OF COURT. (a) The criminal law
193	193	magistrate court may be held at one or more locations [the location
194	194	that is] provided by the local administrative rules or ordered by
195	195	the local administrative judge.
196	196	(b) A defendant may be brought before the court in person or
197	197	by means of an electronic broadcast system through which an image of
198	198	the defendant is presented to the court. For purposes of this
199	199	subsection, "electronic broadcast system" means a two-way
200	200	electronic communication of image and sound between the defendant
201	201	and the court and includes secure Internet videoconferencing.
202	202	SECTION 16. This Act takes effect September 1, 2015.