Texas Attorney General Opinion: JC-246 Page: 2 of 4
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The Honorable Charles D. Penick - Page 2 (JC-0246)
projects, he shall be confined in jailfor a sufficient length of time to
discharge the full amount offine and costs adjudged against him;
rating such confinement at $50 for each day and rating such labor at
$50 for each day ....
TEX. CODE CRIM. PROC. ANN. art. 43.09(a) (Vernon Supp. 2000) (emphasis added). In addition,
article 43.09 confers broad discretion on the sentencing court to, for example, "grant an additional
two days credit for each day served to any inmate participating in an approved work program... or
a rehabilitation, restitution, or education program," and "to discharge all or part of the fine or costs
by performing community service" at the rate of $100 for each eight hours of service. Id. art.
43.09(d), (f), (k). Section (a) was last amended in 19931 and subsection (k) was amended in 1999
to increase the credit for eight hours of community service from $50 to $100.2
Your inquiry focuses on Class C misdemeanors. A Class C misdemeanor is one in which
the maximum permissible punishment is a fine not to exceed $500, and it is not punishable by
confinement. See TEX. PEN. CODE ANN. 12.23 (Vernon 1994). Justice courts have original
jurisdiction in criminal cases in which the punishment is by a fine or other sanction that does not
include confinement. See TEX. CODE CRIM. PROC. ANN. art. 4.11 (Vernon Supp. 2000). A
municipal court has "exclusive original jurisdiction within the territorial limits of the municipality
in all criminal cases" punishable by fine only, with the maximum fine not to exceed $500, or in
certain cases, $2000. Id. art. 4.14. County courts do not have jurisdiction in any case in which the
fine to be imposed does not exceed $500. See id. art. 4.07. Thus, only justice and municipal courts
have jurisdiction of Class C misdemeanors.
Chapter 45 of the Code of Criminal Procedure deals exclusively with "justice and municipal
courts." Article 45.002 thereof declares:
Criminal proceedings in the justice and municipal courts shall
be conducted in accordance with this chapter, including any other
rules ofprocedure specifically made applicable to those proceedings
by this chapter. If this chapter does not provide a rule of procedure
governing any aspect of a case, the justice or judge shall apply the
other general provisions of this code to the extent necessary to
achieve the objectives of this chapter.
Id. art. 45.002 (emphasis added). Chapter 45 was extensively rewritten in 1999, and many previous
provisions were renumbered as well as amended.3 Former article 45.53 was redesignated as article
'See Act of May 20, 1993, 73d Leg., R.S., ch. 578, 2, 1993 Tex. Gen. Laws 2188, 2189.
2See Act of May 30, 1999, 76th Leg., R.S., ch. 1545, 3, 1999 Tex. Gen. Laws 5314.3See id. 6, at 5315.
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Texas. Attorney-General's Office. Texas Attorney General Opinion: JC-246, text, July 7, 2000; (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth274555/m1/2/: accessed March 28, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting UNT Libraries Government Documents Department.