Texas 2015 - 84th Regular

Texas Senate Bill SB2000 Compare Versions

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

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1	1	By: Rodríguez S.B. No. 2000
2	2
3	3
4	4	A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
5	5	AN ACT
6	6	relating to jurisdiction and court administration of the El Paso
7	7	Criminal Law Magistrate Court.
8	8	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
9	9	SECTION 1. Section 54.732, Government Code, is amended to
10	10	read as follows:
11	11	Sec. 54.732. CREATION. The El Paso Criminal Law Magistrate
12	12	Court is a court having the jurisdiction provided by this
13	13	subchapter over offenses allegedly committed in El Paso County
14	14	[except for that portion of the county in the corporate limits of
15	15	Vinton, Texas].
16	16	SECTION 2. Section 54.733, Government Code, is amended by
17	17	adding Subsection (j) to read as follows:
18	18	(j) The criminal law magistrate court has concurrent
19	19	criminal jurisdiction with the justice courts located in El Paso
20	20	County.
21	21	SECTION 3. Section 54.735, Government Code, is amended to
22	22	read as follows:
23	23	Sec. 54.735. POWERS AND DUTIES. (a) The criminal law
24	24	magistrate court or a judge of the criminal law magistrate court may
25	25	issue writs of injunction and all other writs necessary for the
26	26	enforcement of the jurisdiction of the court and may issue
27	27	misdemeanor writs of habeas corpus in cases in which the offense
28	28	charged is within the jurisdiction of the court or of any other
29	29	court of inferior jurisdiction in the county. The court and the
30	30	judge may punish for contempt as provided by law for district
31	31	courts. A judge of the criminal law magistrate court has all other
32	32	powers, duties, immunities, and privileges provided by law for:
33	33	(1) justices of the peace when acting in a Class C
34	34	misdemeanor case;
35	35	(2) county court judges when acting in a Class A or
36	36	Class B misdemeanor case; and
37	37	(3) [for] district court judges when acting in a
38	38	felony case.
39	39	(b) A judge of the criminal law magistrate court may hold an
40	40	indigency hearing and a capias pro fine hearing. When acting as the
41	41	judge who issued the capias pro fine, a judge of the criminal law
42	42	magistrate court may make all findings of fact and law required of
43	43	the judge who issued the capias pro fine. In conducting a hearing
44	44	under this subsection, the judge of the criminal law magistrate
45	45	court is empowered to make all findings of fact and to issue all
46	46	orders necessary to properly dispose of the capias pro fine or
47	47	indigency hearing in accordance with the provisions of the Code of
48	48	Criminal Procedure applicable to a misdemeanor or felony case of
49	49	the same type and level.
50	50	SECTION 4. Section 54.736(b), Government Code, is amended
51	51	to read as follows:
52	52	(b) The council of judges shall ensure that the criminal law
53	53	magistrate court gives preference to magistrate duties, as those
54	54	duties apply to the county jail inmate population first and then to
55	55	newly detained individuals, until the commissioners court provides
56	56	funds for more than one judge to sit on the criminal law magistrate
57	57	court.
58	58	SECTION 5. Section 54.737(c), Government Code, is amended
59	59	to read as follows:
60	60	(c) The rules must provide that[:
61	61	[(1) a criminal law magistrate judge may not, on a
62	62	regular basis, hold court or perform magistrate duties after 7 p.m.
63	63	or before 7 a.m.; and
64	64	[(2)] a criminal law magistrate judge may only release
65	65	a defendant under Article 17.031, Code of Criminal Procedure, under
66	66	guidelines established by the council of judges.
67	67	SECTION 6. Sections 54.738(a) and (c), Government Code, are
68	68	amended to read as follows:
69	69	(a) Except as provided by Subsection (b) or local
70	70	administrative rules, the local administrative judge or a judge of
71	71	the criminal law magistrate court may transfer between courts a
72	72	case that is pending in the court of any magistrate in the criminal
73	73	law magistrate court's jurisdiction if the case is:
74	74	(1) an [any] unindicted felony case;
75	75	(2) a[,] Class A [misdemeanor case,] or Class B
76	76	misdemeanor case if an information has not been filed; or
77	77	(3) a Class C misdemeanor [and if the] case [is pending
78	78	in the court of any magistrate in the criminal law magistrate
79	79	court's jurisdiction].
80	80	(c) Except as provided by Subsection (d) or local
81	81	administrative rules, the local administrative judge may assign a
82	82	judge on the council of judges, a judge of the criminal law
83	83	magistrate court, a retired judge, or any other magistrate to act as
84	84	presiding judge in a case that is pending in the court of any
85	85	magistrate in the criminal law magistrate court's jurisdiction if
86	86	the case is:
87	87	(1) an [any] unindicted felony case;
88	88	(2) a[,] Class A [misdemeanor case,] or Class B
89	89	misdemeanor case if an information has not been filed; or
90	90	(3) a Class C misdemeanor [and if the] case [is pending
91	91	in the court of any magistrate in the criminal law magistrate
92	92	court's jurisdiction].
93	93	SECTION 7. Section 54.739(d), Government Code, is amended
94	94	to read as follows:
95	95	(d) A case assigned under this subchapter to the criminal
96	96	law magistrate court from a district court, [or] a county court at
97	97	law, or a justice court remains on the docket of the assigning court
98	98	and in the assigning court's jurisdiction.
99	99	SECTION 8. Section 54.741, Government Code, is amended to
100	100	read as follows:
101	101	Sec. 54.741. FORFEITURES. Bail bonds and personal bonds
102	102	may be forfeited by the criminal law magistrate court in the manner
103	103	provided by Chapter 22, Code of Criminal Procedure, and those
104	104	forfeitures shall be filed with:
105	105	(1) the district clerk if associated with a felony
106	106	case;
107	107	(2) [, except in cases in which] the county clerk if
108	108	associated with a Class A or Class B misdemeanor case; or
109	109	(3) the same justice court clerk associated with the
110	110	Class C misdemeanor case in which the bond was originally filed [is
111	111	the clerk under this subchapter].
112	112	SECTION 9. Section 54.742, Government Code, is amended by
113	113	adding Subsection (c) to read as follows:
114	114	(c) When a justice clerk is the clerk under this subchapter,
115	115	the justice clerk shall charge the same court costs for cases filed
116	116	in, transferred to, or assigned to the criminal law magistrate
117	117	court that are charged in the justice courts.
118	118	SECTION 10. Section 54.744, Government Code, is amended to
119	119	read as follows:
120	120	Sec. 54.744. JUDGES ON EL PASO COUNCIL OF JUDGES. Unless
121	121	the local rules of administration provide otherwise, the judges on
122	122	the El Paso Council of Judges and the judges on the criminal law
123	123	magistrate court may sit and act for any magistrate in El Paso
124	124	County on any unindicted felony or Class A or B misdemeanor case if
125	125	an information has not been filed or any Class C misdemeanor case
126	126	filed in a justice court.
127	127	SECTION 11. Section 54.745(a), Government Code, is amended
128	128	to read as follows:
129	129	(a) As a condition for a defendant to enter any pretrial
130	130	diversion program, including a behavioral modification program, a
131	131	health care program, a specialty court program, or the functional
132	132	equivalent that may be operated in El Paso County by El Paso County,
133	133	Emergence Health Network, the City of El Paso, the West Texas
134	134	Regional Adult Probation Department, a community partner approved
135	135	by the council of judges, or a county or district attorney of El
136	136	Paso County, a defendant must file in the court in which the charges
137	137	are pending a sworn waiver of speedy trial motion requesting the
138	138	court to approve without a hearing defendant's waiver of his speedy
139	139	trial rights under the constitution and other law. If the court
140	140	approves the waiver, the defendant is eligible for consideration
141	141	for acceptance into a pretrial diversion program or equivalent
142	142	program.
143	143	SECTION 12. Sections 54.746(d) and (e), Government Code,
144	144	are amended to read as follows:
145	145	(d) A judge of a county court at law in El Paso County shall
146	146	exercise jurisdiction granted by Subsection (a) over felony
147	147	indictments and felony informations and justice court cases
148	148	[information] only as a judge presiding for the court in which the
149	149	felony or Class C misdemeanor is pending and only if the El Paso
150	150	Council of Judges has so provided in the local administrative rules
151	151	by a unanimous vote. The exercise of this jurisdiction outside El
152	152	Paso County is as provided by Chapter 74 and other law.
153	153	(e) A judge of a district court in El Paso County shall
154	154	exercise jurisdiction granted by Subsection (a) over misdemeanor
155	155	information and justice court cases only as a judge presiding for
156	156	the court in which the misdemeanor is pending and only if the
157	157	council of judges has so provided in the local administrative rules
158	158	by a unanimous vote. The exercise of this jurisdiction outside El
159	159	Paso County is as provided by the Court Administration Act (Chapter
160	160	74) and other law.
161	161	SECTION 13. Section 54.750, Government Code, is amended by
162	162	adding Subsection (d) to read as follows:
163	163	(d) When conducting a capias pro fine hearing for any court,
164	164	the criminal law magistrate court acts in the same capacity and with
165	165	the same authority as the judge who issued the capias pro fine.
166	166	SECTION 14. Sections 54.753(a) and (b), Government Code,
167	167	are amended to read as follows:
168	168	(a) The district clerk serves as clerk of the criminal law
169	169	magistrate court, except that:
170	170	(1) after a Class A or Class B misdemeanor information
171	171	is filed in the county court at law and assigned to the criminal law
172	172	magistrate court, the county clerk serves as clerk for that
173	173	misdemeanor case; and
174	174	(2) after a Class C misdemeanor is filed in a justice
175	175	court and assigned to the criminal law magistrate court, the
176	176	originating justice court clerk serves as clerk for that
177	177	misdemeanor case.
178	178	(b) The district clerk shall establish a docket and keep the
179	179	minutes for the cases filed in or transferred to the criminal law
180	180	magistrate court. The district clerk shall perform any other duties
181	181	that local administrative rules require in connection with the
182	182	implementation of this subchapter. The local administrative judge
183	183	shall ensure that the duties required under this subsection are
184	184	performed. To facilitate the duties associated with serving as the
185	185	clerk of the criminal law magistrate court, the district clerk and
186	186	the deputies of the district clerk may serve as deputy justice
187	187	clerks and deputy county clerks at the discretion of the district
188	188	clerk.
189	189	SECTION 15. Section 54.759, Government Code, is amended to
190	190	read as follows:
191	191	Sec. 54.759. LOCATION OF COURT. (a) The criminal law
192	192	magistrate court may be held at one or more locations [the location
193	193	that is] provided by the local administrative rules or ordered by
194	194	the local administrative judge.
195	195	(b) A defendant may be brought before the court in person or
196	196	by means of an electronic broadcast system through which an image of
197	197	the defendant is presented to the court. For purposes of this
198	198	subsection, "electronic broadcast system" means a two-way
199	199	electronic communication of image and sound between the defendant
200	200	and the court.
201	201	SECTION 16. This Act takes effect September 1, 2015.