TRAFFIC MISDEMEANORS
This category includes all fine-only misdemeanor offenses found in the Texas Transportation Code and other laws relating to the operation or ownership of a motor vehicle. Maximum punishment is by fine and such sanctions, if any, as authorized by statute not consisting of confinement in jail or imprisonment.
1. NON-PARKING:
This includes all offenses which do not involve offenses for improper parking. Some common examples of non-parking offenses are: speeding, no driver's licence, no financial responsibility, expired registration, failure to wear a seatbelt and the like.
2. PARKING:
This includes those offenses, by state law or municipal ordinance, which involve the
improper standing or stopping of a vehicle, for example: parking on a sidewalk, in an
intersection, on a crosswalk, or where an official sign prohibits standing or stopping,
and the like.
NON-TRAFFIC MISDEMEANORS
This category includes all other fine-only and Class C misdemeanor offenses:
1. STATE LAW
Many of these offenses are found in the Texas Penal Code of Texas, for example: public intoxication, disorderly conduct, simple assault, theft under $50, and the like. Some common examples of other state laws that contain fine-only misdemeanor offenses are: the Texas Alcoholic Beverage Code, Education Code, Family Code, and the Health and Safety Code.
2. CITY ORDINANCE
These offenses include the non-traffic offenses found in municipal ordinances, for example: barking dog, dog running at large, operating a business without a permit, fire safety, zoning, littering and the like. The penalty range for these offenses is established by ordinance according to the following parameters set by state law: a city ordinance is punishable by a fine not to exceed: 1) $2000 for ordinances that govern fire safety, zoning, and public health; or, 2) $500 for all others.
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.