ORD 2001-22TOWN OF TROPHY CLUB, TEXAS
ORDINANCE NO. 2001 - 22
AN ORDINANCE OF THE TOWN OF TROPHY CLUB, TEXAS,
REPEALING ORDINANCE NO. 1999-27, CREATING AND
ESTABLISHING A MUNICIPAL COURT; AND ADOPTING NEW
PROVISIONS TO CREATE THE MUNICIPAL COURT OF RECORD NO.
I IN THE TOWN OF TROPHY CLUB, TEXAS; PROVIDING
AUTHORITY; ESTABLISHING DATES OF ABOLITION AND
COMMENCEMENT; PROVIDING FOR THE APPOINTMENTS,
QUALIFICATIONS, VACANCIES, REMOVAL AND JUDICIAL
AUTHORITY OF JUDGES; PROVIDING FOR THE APPOINTMENT OF
A MUNICIPAL COURT CLERIC; ESTABLISHING :PROVISIONS FOR
FAILURE TO APPEAR AND PROMISE TO APPEAR VIOLATIONS;
PROVIDING DRIVING SAFETY FEES; PROVIDING WARRANT FEES;
PROVIDING A TRANSCRIPT PREPARATION FEE; PROVIDING A
CUMULATIVE REPEALER CLAUSE; PROVIDING A SAVINGS
CLAUSE; PROVIDING A SEVERABILITY CLAUSE; PROVIDING FOR
ENGROSSMENT AND ENROLLMENT; AND PROVIDING AN
EFFECTIVE DATE.
WHEREAS, Texas Government Code Chapter 30, "Municipal Courts of Record,"
Subchapter VV, Town of Trophy Club and Subchapter A, "General Law for Municipal Courts of
Record" provides that the governing body of the Town may create a municipal court of record if
the creation of a municipal court of record is necessary to provide a more efficient disposition of
cases arising in the Town;
WHEREAS, on October S, 1999, the Town enacted Ordinance No. 1999-27, creating
and establishing a municipal court which is not a court of record;
WHEREAS, it is now the desire of the Town to repeal Ordinance No. 1999-27 in its
entirety, thereby abolishing the existing municipal court, and adopt new provisions for the
creation of the Municipal Court of Record No. 1; and
WHEREAS, the Town Council has determined that the creation of a Municipal Court of
Record will provide a more efficient disposition of cases arising in the Town and serve the best
interests of the citizens.
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT ORDAINED BY THE TOWN COUNCIL OF THE
TOWN OF TROPHY CLUB, TEXAS:
SECTION 11.
CUMULATIVE REPEALER
This Ordinance shall be cumulative of all other Ordinances and shall not repeal any of the
provisions of such Ordinances except for those instances where there are direct conflicts with the
provisions of this Ordinance; provided however, that Ordinance No. 1999-27 is hereby repealed.
Ordinances or parts thereof in force at the time this Ordinance shall take effect and that are
inconsistent with this Ordinance are hereby repealed to the extent that they are inconsistent with
this Ordinance. Provided however, that any complaint, action, claim or lawsuit which has been
initiated or has arisen under or pursuant to such other Ordinances on the date of adoption of this
Ordinance shall continue to be governed by the provisions of such Ordinance and for that
purpose the Ordinance shall remain in full force and effect.
SECTION 12.
SEVERABILITY
If any section, article, paragraph, sentence, clause, phrase or word in this Ordinance, or
application thereof to any person or circumstance, is held invalid or unconstitutional by a Court
of competent jurisdiction, such holding shall not affect the validity of the remaining portions of
the Ordinance, and the Town Council hereby declares it would have passed such remaining of
the Ordinance despite such invalidity, which remaining portions shall remain in full force and
effect.
SECTION 13.
SAVINGS
All rights and remedies of the Town of Trophy Club, Texas, are expressly saved as to any
and all violations of the provisions of any other Ordinances or Resolutions of the Town affecting
municipal court, which have secured at the time of the effective date of this Ordinance; and, as to
such accrued violations and all pending litigation, both civil and criminal, whether pending in
court or not, under such other Ordinances or Resolution, same shall not be affected by this
Ordinance but may be prosecuted until final disposition by the courts.
SECTION 14.
ENGROSSMENT AND ENROLLMENT
The Town Secretary of the Town of Trophy Club is hereby directed to engross and enroll
this Ordinance by copying the exact Caption and Effective Date clause in the minutes of the
Town Council of the Town of Trophy Club and by filing this Ordinance in the Ordinance records
of the Town.
SECTION 1.
INCORPORATION OF PREMISES
All matters stated in the preamble are found to be true and correct and are incorporated
herein by reference as if copied in their entirety.
SECTION 2.
ABOLITION• CREATION
By the passage of this ordinance, the existing municipal court is hereby abolished and the
Municipal Court of Record No. 1 is hereby created in the Town of Trophy Club. The Town
Council, in accordance with the determinations above, finds that a Municipal Court of Record is
necessary to provide a more efficient disposition of cases arising in the Town. The Municipal
Court of Record No. 1 shall have concurrent jurisdiction with the Justice Court in any precinct in
which Town is located in those criminal cases that arise in the Town and that are punishable by
fine only.
SECTION 3.
AUTHORITY
The Town of Trophy Club Municipal Court of Record No. 1 is hereby established
pursuant to Texas Government Code Chapter 30, "Municipal Courts of Record," Subchapter A,
"General Law for Municipal Courts of Record," Sections 30.0181, Subchapter W, all as from
time to time amended, and the provisions of such legislation governing the operation of a
municipal court of record are hereby adopted.
SECTION 4.
COMMENCEMENT
The existing Municipal Court of the Town is hereby abolished as of 12:00 a.m. on
September 30, 2001, Simultaneously with the abolition of the existing Municipal Court, the
Town of Trophy Club Municipal Court of Record No. 1 is created. All cases, warrants and other
pending matters in the existing Municipal Court are hereby transferred to the Municipal Court of
Record No. 1, commencing at 12:00:01 a.m, on the 1st day of October, 2001.
SECTION 5.
JUDGES
A. Appointments. The Town Council shall appoint a Presiding Judge and, at its
discretion, appoint one or more Alternate Judges. The Presiding Judge and the Alternate .fudges
shall be appointed for terms of two (2) years each and shall have the authority provided by state
law, Each term of office shall commence upon the effective date of the ordinance appointing
each such judge. Town Council shall establish the compensation for the Presiding Judge and
each Alternate Judge.
B. Qualifications. Each person appointed as a municipal court judge shall be: (1) a
resident of the State of Texas, (2) a citizen of the United States, and (3) a licensed Texas attorney
in good standing who has two or more years of experience in the practice of law in Texas.
C. Temporary Vacancy. The Town Council may appoint one or more persons to sit
for the Presiding Judge or for any Alternate Judge(s) of the municipal court while any such judge
or judges are temporarily unable to act for any reason. The substitute judge(s) shall meet all of
the qualifications prescribed for the municipal judge, and while serving as a municipal judge,
shall have all the powers and discharge all the duties of a municipal judge.
D. Vacancy. If a vacancy occurs in the office of municipal judge of the Court, the
Town Council shall by ordinance provide for the appointment of a qualified person to fill the
office for the remainder of the unexpired term only.
E. Removal. A municipal judge may be removed from office by the Town Council
at any time for the reasons stated and the procedure provided for the removal of mayors and
aldermen in Section 21.002 of the Texas Local Government Code, as amended.
F. Judicial Authority. All duly appointed municipal court judges shall have the
authority as provided by the applicable provisions of the Texas Government Code, as amended,
and all other applicable laws.
SECTION 6.
APPOINTMENT OF CLERK
The Town Council shall appoint a Municipal Court Clerk for the Municipal Court of
Record No. 1 who shall be an employee of the Town, subject to the supervision of the Presiding
Judge. The Town Council shall make an annual appropriation for Municipal Court functions and
personnel, including a court reporter and a bailiff, as deemed necessary for the proper operation
of the Court. All Municipal Court personnel shall serve under the direction and control of the
Presiding Judge. The Municipal Court Clerk shall report to the Town Finance Director for
administrative purposes such as employee benefits and the scheduling of leave. Upon the
direction of the Finance Director and Presiding Judge acting through the Town's Human
Resources Department, the Clerk may hire, direct, supervise or remove the personnel authorized
in the Town's Annual Budget. The Clerk shall appoint a Court Reporter, The Municipal Court
Cleric shall perform all tasks required for the performance of his/her duties, including but not
limited to those duties required by Chapter 30 of the Texas Government Code, as amended, and
all other applicable laws.
SECTION 7.
FAILURE TO APPEAR / VIOLATE PROMISE TO APPEAR
A. Appearance Required. That any person summoned or ordered to appear in the
Town Municipal Court of Record No. 1 to face and answer a charge brought against that person
by the Town for a violation of a State statute, Town ordinance or other Iaw or regulation shall
appear in the Municipal Court of Record No. 1 at the date and time specified in the summons or
order. For purposes of this Ordinance, "Person" shall mean any corporation, partnership, joint
venture, individual or any other entity recognized in law.
B. Complaint. In the event a person summoned or ordered to appear in the
Municipal Court of Record No. 1 as outlined in Section 7.1 of this Ordinance fails to appear, the
Municipal Court Clerk shall be authorized and empowered to file a complaint in the Municipal
Court of Record No. 1 charging that person with failure to appear / violate promise to appear as
summoned or ordered.
SECTION S.
DRIVING SAFETY FEES
A non-refundable fee of ten dollars ($10.00) shall be collected as a special expense each
time a person requests to take a driving safety course for the purpose of having the charge
dismissed after the successful completion of the course. The fee shall be paid into the Town
treasury to recover the costs incurred by the Town in processing the person's request for a
driving safety class.
SECTION 9.
WARRANT FEES
The following fees are hereby established and shall be imposed and collected by the
Town's Municipal Court of Record No 1 for a defendant convicted of a misdemeanor in the
following instances:
A. When a defendant has been convicted in the Municipal Court of the Town, the
defendant shall pay the sum of $50.00 for the execution or processing of an issued arrest warrant
or capias by a peace officer. The fee shall be assessed on conviction regardless of whether the
defendant was also arrested at the same time for another offense, and shall be assessed for each
arrest made of a defendant arising out of the offense for which the defendant has been convicted.
law.
B. Proceeds collected hereunder shall be retained by the Town in accordance with
SECTION 10.
TRANSCRIPT PREPARATION FEE
A transcript preparation fee of Twenty -Five dollars ($25.00) shall be paid by each
defendant appealing from a judgment or conviction in the Municipal Court. The transcript
preparation fee does not include the fee for the actual transcript of the proceedings and must be
paid by the defendant in addition to the fee for the actual transcript, The Court clerk shall note
the payment of the transcript preparation fee on the docket of the court and shall refund the fee to
the defendant if the case is reversed on appeal.
SECTION 15.
EFFECTIVE DATE
This ordinance shall become effective from and after its date of passage and publication
as required by law, and it is so ordained.
PASSED AND APPROVED by the Town Council own o ophy Club,,, Texas
this the 17`E' day of September 2001. /
own of Trophy Club, Texas
ATTEST:
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APPROVED AS TO FORM: ~
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Town Attorney,
Town of Trophy Club, Texas