BILL ANALYSIS
By: Harris
BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE
Under current law, the 396th District Court has general district jurisdiction with preference given to criminal cases and also has concurrent jurisdiction with the county criminal courts in Tarrant County over misdemeanor cases. The justice courts of Tarrant County have jurisdiction over class C misdemeanor citation s that have been filed in their respective courts by the various state and county agencies. Defendants arrested for class C misdemeanor violations are frequently held in custody for days at a time as they await their arraignment in the appropriate justice court, each of which has a different schedule for such cases. As proposed, S.B. 321 expands the jurisdiction of the 396th District Court to have concurrent jurisdiction with the justice courts of Tarrant County over misdemeanor cases.
RULEMAKING AUTHORITY
It is the committee's opinion that this bill does not expressly grant any additional rulemaking authority to a state officer, department, agency, or institution.
ANALYSIS
The bill amends Section 24.541(c), Government Code, to include the justice courts along with the county criminal courts as having concurrent original jurisdiction with the 396th District Court in addition to other jurisdiction provided by law in Tarrant County over misdemeanor cases.
EFFECTIVE DATE
September 1, 2005