Texas 2025 - 89th Regular

Texas Senate Bill SB1210 Compare Versions

Version 1 (Old)

Version 2 (New)

Old	New		Differences
1	1		By: Hughes S.B. No. 1210
2		-
3		-
	2	+	(In the Senate - Filed February 10, 2025;
	3	+	February 28, 2025, read first time and referred to Committee on
	4	+	State Affairs; March 26, 2025, reported favorably by the following
	5	+	vote: Yeas 10, Nays 0; March 26, 2025, sent to printer.)
	6	+	Click here to see the committee vote
4	7
5	8
6	9		A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
7	10		AN ACT
8	11		relating to the jurisdiction of the Texas Supreme Court and the
9	12		Court of Criminal Appeals.
10	13		BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
11	14		SECTION 1. Article 4.01, Code of Criminal Procedure, is
12	15		amended to read as follows:
13	16		Art. 4.01. WHAT COURTS HAVE CRIMINAL JURISDICTION. The
14	17		following courts have jurisdiction in criminal actions:
15	18		1. The Court of Criminal Appeals;
16	19		2. The Texas Supreme Court in a conflict described by
17	20		Section 22.001(a-1), Government Code;
18	21		3. Courts of appeals, other than the Court of Appeals
19	22		for the Fifteenth Court of Appeals District;
20	23		4. [3.] The district courts;
21	24		5. [4.] The criminal district courts;
22	25		6. [5.] The magistrates appointed by the judges of the
23	26		district courts of Bexar County, Dallas County, Tarrant County, or
24	27		Travis County that give preference to criminal cases and the
25	28		magistrates appointed by the judges of the criminal district courts
26	29		of Dallas County or Tarrant County;
27	30		7. [6.] The county courts;
28	31		8. [7.] All county courts at law with criminal
29	32		jurisdiction;
30	33		9. [8.] County criminal courts;
31	34		10. [9.] Justice courts;
32	35		11. [10.] Municipal courts;
33	36		12. [11.] The magistrates appointed by the judges of
34	37		the district courts of Lubbock County;
35	38		13. [12.] The magistrates appointed by the El Paso
36	39		Council of Judges;
37	40		14. [13.] The magistrates appointed by the Collin
38	41		County Commissioners Court;
39	42		15. [14.] The magistrates appointed by the Brazoria
40	43		County Commissioners Court or the local administrative judge for
41	44		Brazoria County;
42	45		16. [15.] The magistrates appointed by the judges of
43	46		the district courts of Tom Green County;
44	47		17. [16.] The magistrates appointed by the judges of
45	48		the district and statutory county courts of Denton County; and
46	49		18. [17.] The magistrates appointed by the judges of
47	50		the district and statutory county courts of Grayson County.
48	51		SECTION 2. Article 4.04, Code of Criminal Procedure, is
49	52		amended to read as follows:
50	53		Art. 4.04. COURT OF CRIMINAL APPEALS
51	54		Sec. 1. The Court of Criminal Appeals and each judge thereof
52	55		shall have, and is hereby given, the power and authority to grant
53	56		and issue and cause the issuance of writs of habeas corpus, and, in
54	57		criminal law matters, other writs, including the writs of mandamus,
55	58		procedendo, prohibition, and certiorari, [. The court and each
56	59		judge thereof shall have, and is hereby given, the power and
57	60		authority to grant and issue and cause the issuance of such other
58	61		writs] as may be necessary to protect its jurisdiction or enforce
59	62		its judgments.
60	63		Sec. 2. Except as provided by Section 22.001(a-1),
61	64		Government Code, the [The] Court of Criminal Appeals shall have,
62	65		and is hereby given, final appellate and review jurisdiction in
63	66		criminal cases coextensive with the limits of the state, and its
64	67		determinations shall be final. The appeal of all cases in which the
65	68		death penalty has been assessed shall be to the Court of Criminal
66	69		Appeals. In addition, the Court of Criminal Appeals may[,] on [its
67	70		own motion, with or without] a petition for such discretionary
68	71		review being filed by one of the parties, review any decision of a
69	72		court of appeals in a criminal case other than a conflict described
70	73		by Section 22.001(a-1), Government Code. Discretionary review by
71	74		the Court of Criminal Appeals is not a matter of right, but of sound
72	75		judicial discretion.
73	76		SECTION 3. Section 22.001, Government Code, is amended by
74	77		amending Subsections (a) and (b) and adding Subsection (a-1) to
75	78		read as follows:
76	79		(a) The supreme court has appellate jurisdiction, except in
77	80		criminal law matters other than a conflict described by Subsection
78	81		(a-1), of an appealable order or judgment of the trial courts if the
79	82		court determines that the appeal presents a question of law that is
80	83		important to the jurisprudence of the state.
81	84		(a-1) The supreme court has appellate jurisdiction to
82	85		finally resolve a conflict between the supreme court and the court
83	86		of criminal appeals regarding the interpretation of a provision of
84	87		the Texas Constitution on:
85	88		(1) submission of a writ of certiorari to the supreme
86	89		court by a party to any proceeding in any court of this state; or
87	90		(2) certification of a question of law from any
88	91		federal court [The supreme court's jurisdiction does not include
89	92		cases in which the jurisdiction of the court of appeals is made
90	93		final by statute].
91	94		(b) Except as provided by Subsection (a-1), a [A] case over
92	95		which the court has jurisdiction under Subsection (a) may be
93	96		carried to the supreme court by petition for review.
94	97		SECTION 4. It is the intent of the legislature that:
95	98		(1) the jurisdiction of the Texas Supreme Court as
96	99		amended by this Act is "as otherwise provided . . . by law" within
97	100		the meaning of Section 3(a), Article V, Texas Constitution; and
98	101		(2) the jurisdiction of the Court of Criminal Appeals
99	102		as amended by this Act is "with such exceptions and under such
100	103		regulations . . . as prescribed by law" within the meaning of
101	104		Section 5(a), Article V, Texas Constitution.
102	105		SECTION 5. The changes in law made by this Act apply to any
103	106		matter described by Section 22.001(a-1), Government Code, as added
104	107		by this Act, pending before any court of this state on or after the
105	108		effective date of this Act.
106	109		SECTION 6. This Act takes effect immediately if it receives
107	110		a vote of two-thirds of all the members elected to each house, as
108	111		provided by Section 39, Article III, Texas Constitution. If this
109	112		Act does not receive the vote necessary for immediate effect, this
110	113		Act takes effect September 1, 2025.
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