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A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
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AN ACT
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relating to the operation and administration of the Walker County |
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Court at Law. |
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BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS: |
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SECTION 1. Section 25.2382, Government Code, is amended by |
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amending Subsections (a), (g), (h), (i), and (k) and adding |
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Subsection (m) to read as follows: |
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(a) In addition to the jurisdiction provided by Section |
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25.0003 and other law, a county court at law in Walker County has |
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concurrent jurisdiction with the district court in[:
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[(1)] family law cases and proceedings[; and
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[(2)
cases and proceedings involving justiciable
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controversies and differences between spouses, between parents, or
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between parent and child, or between any of these and third
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persons]. |
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(g) The district clerk serves as clerk of a county court at |
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law in family law cases and proceedings [the cases enumerated in
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Subsections (a)(2)(B) and (C)], and the county clerk serves as |
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clerk of the court in all other matters. The commissioners court |
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may employ as many deputy sheriffs and bailiffs as are necessary to |
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serve a county court at law. |
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(h) The judge of a county court at law shall set the [may,
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instead of appointing an] official court reporter's salary at an |
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amount that does not exceed the salary of an official court reporter |
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for a district court [reporter, contract for the services of a court
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reporter under guidelines established by the commissioners court]. |
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(i) Except as otherwise required by law, a jury in a county |
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court at law shall be composed of six members [If a family law case
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is tried before a jury, the jury shall be composed of 12 members]. |
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(k) All cases appealed from the justice courts and other |
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courts of inferior jurisdiction in the county shall be made |
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directly [direct] to a county court at law, unless otherwise |
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provided by law. |
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(m) The judge of a county court at law and a judge of a |
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district court may exchange benches and transfer cases with the |
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approval of the judges and in the same manner that judges of |
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district courts exchange benches and transfer cases under Section |
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24.003. |
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SECTION 2. Section 25.2382(e), Government Code, is |
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repealed. |
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SECTION 3. This Act takes effect September 1, 2017. |