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Justice of the peace courts, also called justice courts, are lower courts in Texas that have jurisdiction over traffic cases, minor criminal offenses, and minor civil cases.
Each justice court is presided over by a Justice of the Peace, with each county having up to eight justice precincts depending on the population.
As of October 2023, there are about 796 justice courts in Texas, according to the Office of Court Administration.
Jurisdiction
Justice of the Peace Courts have original jurisdiction in Class C misdemeanor criminal cases and traffic cases. They also preside over landlord-tenant disputes, including eviction matters, small claims disputes where the amount in dispute is less than $20,000, and debt claims.
Justice courts do not have jurisdiction in divorce cases, defamation cases, or lawsuits over land title or land liens.
Informalism
The proceedings in civil cases in justice courts are more informal than in other courts in the Texas judiciary. Formal pleadings are not required.
According to Government Code sec. 27.060(b)(4), “The hearing is informal, with the sole objective being to dispense speedy justice between the parties.” Certain rules of the Texas Rules of Civil Procedure and Texas Rules of Evidence do not apply in justice courts.
Additionally, trials in justice courts are not “of record,” which means that they do not keep a record that is passed to a higher court on appeal. Instead, any appeal from a justice court is tried anew in a district or county court.
Either side can request a jury trial in justice court, but the request must be in writing.
Role in Magistration
In addition to their role adjudicating cases, justices of the peace may play a procedural role in the early stage of the criminal process for more serious offenses that are not heard in justice courts themselves.
Justices of the peace serve in the capacity of a committing magistrate, with the authority to issue warrants for the arrest of persons charged with the commission of felony or misdemeanor offenses.
As a magistrate, a justice of the peace reviews probable-cause affidavits for arrest and search warrants; determines probable cause for on-site arrests, holds preliminary hearings, and decides whether to release the accused, or send them to jail and set bail.
Other Duties of Justices of the Peace
Other duties of justices of the peace include:
- serving as the coroner in counties where there is no medical examiner
- serving as an ex officio notary public
- hearing truancy cases
- hearing administrative cases to revoke drivers’ licenses
- performing marriage ceremonies.
Elections of Justices of the Peace
Justices of the peace are selected in partisan elections. They serve four-year terms. In the event of a vacancy, the county commissioners court may appoint a justice of the peace.
Each justice of the peace is elected from the judicial precinct in which they reside, with up to eight precincts per county.
That usually means that there are no more than eight justices of the peace per county, though some larger counties elect multiple justices of the peace per precinct.
Qualifications to Become a Justice of the Peace
There are no minimum legal qualifications to become a justice of the peace, but after assuming office a justice of the peace must obtain 80 hours of continuing education during their first year in office and 20 hours annually thereafter.
Justice Court Statistics
Texas justice courts disposed of 1.3 million criminal cases in fiscal year 2022, of which about 1.1 million were traffic and parking cases. Justice courts also handled thousands of juvenile cases.
Justice courts disposed of about 600,000 civil cases in fiscal year 2022. Of the civil cases disposed, 48.3% were debt claims, 41.7% were landlord-tenant cases, and 0.1% were small claims cases (numbers rounded).
During the year justice courts issued 1,923 search warrants and more than 270,000 arrest warrants. They held 12,655 emergency mental health hearings.
These numbers are based on data reported by the justice courts to the Office of Court Administration, with a reporting rate of 95 percent.
