Municipal Courts

Explanation Of Case Categories



Traffic Misdemeanors

 This category includes all class C misdemeanor violations of the traffic laws of Texas and other violations of laws relating to the operation or ownership of a motor vehicle. Maximum punishment is by fine only, not to exceed $500.

Non-Parking

This includes all those violations which do not involve offenses for improper parking (for example, Exceeding the Speed Limit, Failure to Stop at a Traffic Control Device, Expired or No Driver's License or Inspection Sticker, etc.).

Parking

This includes those offenses, by state law or city ordinance, which involve the improper standing of a vehicle (for example, Parking on Highway Right of Way, Within an Intersection, Overparking, etc.).

Non-Traffic Misdemeanors

 This category includes all other class C misdemeanor criminal violations:

State Law

Violations are those usually found in the Penal Code of Texas and associated state laws (for example, Public Intoxication, Disorderly Conduct, Assault, Theft Under $50, etc.). Maximum punishment is by fine only, not to exceed $500.

City Ordinance

Violations are those non-traffic offenses found in the ordinances of the city (for example, Dog Running at Large, Plumbing Code Violation, etc.). Ordinance violations involving litter, fire safety, zoning, public health, and sanitation, are punishable by fines only, up to a maximum of $2,000. Punishment for violation of other types of city ordinances is limited to fines only, not to exceed $500.

Cautionary Statement

Perhaps more caution should be used in drawing general conclusions from court statistics than from statistics on other subjects. The included data do not attempt to portray everything courts or judges do, or how much time is spent on court-related activities not represented by these court statistics.

Particularly the county court judges, justices of the peace, and municipal court judges spend a large amount of time counseling with the people in their communities, and as a result of this counseling, many cases are not filed. In addition, as a result of their official position, many of these judges have non-judicial responsibilities in the community which are not reflected in these statistics.

It is important to note that reported totals for municipal courts do not reflect 100% of the activity of those courts, because all courts did not submit reports on the activity of their courts to this office.