County Judges in Texas

A county judge in Texas is the presiding officer of the governing body of a county government in Texas, the five-member county commissioners court. There are 254 county judges in Texas, one for each of the state’s 254 counties.

County judges wield a mix of executive, judicial, and legislative or quasi-legislative powers. Each county judge is a voting member of the county commissioners court, which sets the tax rate, policies, and budget of the county. 

Powers and Duties of County Judges in Texas

As defined by Texas law and the state constitution, the duties of county judges include:

• serving as the judge of the county court in certain criminal and civil cases
• presiding over the commissioners court and overseeing the agenda
• serving as the head of emergency management in the county
• serving as the chief budget officer in counties with a population under 225,000
• calling elections, posting election notices, and receiving and canvassing election returns
• holding hearings for liquor license applications
• performing marriages
• receiving and approving bonds and sureties for various county concerns.

In effect, a county judge is the chief executive of the county, though his power is shared with other county officials and the commissioners court collectively. 

Among U.S. states, Texas is unusual in its practice of referring to county executives as “judges.” Arkansas is the only other U.S. state to do so, and Kentucky uses “judge-executive,” though the latter have been stripped of their judicial powers. Other states use titles like “county executive” or “county manager.”

Hybrid Role: Judicial and Executive

The office of county judge is established under Article 5 of the Texas Constitution, which deals with the judiciary. Article 5, Section 15 says that a County Judge “shall be well informed in the law of the State” and “shall be a conservator of the peace” (Art. 5, Sec. 9). In the original 1876 constitution, the county judges had original jurisdiction in all misdemeanors, and in civil cases where the matter in controversy was $200 to $500 (a large sum at that time).

Crime and frontier lawlessness were serious problems in Texas in the 1870s when the constitution was drafted. Therefore, when it came to establishing local governments, the drafters of the constitution demonstrated a preoccupation with matters of criminal justice, rather than other aspects of local administration.

However, the constitution also established the administrative role of county judges, without providing many details about what that entailed. Article 5, Section 18(b) stated, “The County Commissioners… with the County Judge as presiding officer, shall compose the County Commissioners Court, which shall exercise such powers and jurisdiction over all county business, as is conferred by this Constitution and the laws of the State.”

These constitutional provisions establish the county judge as a hybrid judicial-executive office. In fact, however, this dual role pre-dates the 1876 constitution and lies in the alcalde system established under Spanish and Mexican rule.

According to Jason Boatright, a Dallas lawyer who has studied the influence of Spanish law in Texas, “The Texas county judge shares several characteristics with the Spanish and Mexican alcalde, including the dual possession of both executive and judicial powers.”

Delegation of Judicial Powers

Today, many county judges in Texas continue to perform important judicial functions. They preside over misdemeanor criminal cases, small civil cases, probate matters, and appeals from Justice of the Peace Courts. 

But in more populous counties, county judges have delegated some or all of their judicial functions to other courts. Starting in the early 1900s, the legislature created county courts at law, also called statutory county courts, allowing county judges in some areas to reduce their judicial workload and focus more on their administrative role.

Plural Executive Nature of Texas County Government

Although county judges in Texas are the ceremonial and political heads of county government, their power over other county officials is limited. Tax assessor-collectors, sheriffs, clerks, and certain other county executives are elected independently. As such, these officials are politically accountable to the voters, not to the county judge or commissioners court, though they must comply with the budget and policies set by the latter.

This system of plural executive creates a decentralized structure of power, where each elected official operates within their own area of responsibility and has a degree of autonomy. For example, while a county judge might set overall budgetary priorities, the sheriff retains control over law enforcement decisions, and the district clerk manages court records. This decentralization can lead to both cooperation and occasional friction between county officials, particularly when it comes to budget allocation or policy implementation, as each official has independent authority granted through direct elections.

Qualifications of County Judges in Texas

A county judge in Texas must meet the following qualifications at the time of appointment or election:

• U.S. Citizen;
• resident of Texas for at least 12 consecutive months;
• resident of the county for at least six consecutive months;
• registered to vote in the county;
• at least 18 years of age;
• not previously convicted of any felony; and
• not previously determined by a probate court to be mentally incapacitated.

A county judge serves a four-year term. If the judge vacates the post on account of resignation, removal, abandonment, or removal, then the commissioners court may fill the vacancy.

Comparison to County Executives in Other States

The role of county judge in Texas is unique in that it combines judicial, executive, and legislative powers. In most other states, these roles are separate and often handled by different officials. For example:

• Maryland: The county executive is the chief administrative officer, overseeing county operations, budgets, and services, without any judicial powers. This position is elected independently of the county legislative body.
• Kentucky: The “judge-executive” is similar to Texas but without judicial functions. The title remains as a historical reference, but the role is purely executive, overseeing county operations alongside the fiscal court, which handles legislative matters.
• California: Counties have a board of supervisors, and the county administrative officer (CAO) manages day-to-day operations. The county judges in California focus solely on judicial duties, unlike in Texas, where the county judge also serves as the head of county government.
• Florida: Like California, Florida has county commissioners who oversee governance, and a separate county administrator handles executive duties. County judges in Florida focus only on legal matters, such as presiding over cases in the county court.

In contrast to these states, Texas retains a hybrid county judge position that includes both judicial and executive authority, making it a distinctive feature of local governance in the state.

Removing a County Judge From Office

Under the Texas Constitution (art. V sec. 24) and Local Government Code (ch. 87), a county judge may be removed by a district judge, after a jury trial, on grounds of “incompetency, official misconduct, habitual drunkenness,” or “intoxication on or off duty.”

Any resident of the county who is not under indictment may file a petition in district court seeking removal of the county judge. The district court judge has sole discretion whether to act on the petition and move forward with a trial. 

If the judge does set a trial, then the judge may temporarily suspend the county judge and appoint another person to perform the duties of the office pending trial.