Texas Attorney General Opinion: LO97-015 Page: 6 of 7
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The Honorable James M. Kuboviak - Page 6 (L097-0 15)
the cases. If under the Court Administration Act the local judges have selected only the statutory
county courts to hear family-law cases other than cases involving delinquent conduct and conduct in
need of supervision, then the district clerk must assign the cases to only those courts (assuming the
local judges' rule is otherwise proper). While local rules may limit the courts to which the clerk may
assign family-law cases, we do not read the Court Administration Act to empower district and county
court at law judges to limit a court's jurisdiction through the local rules. Government Code section
25.0232(g) premises the district court's duty to accept cases for filing upon the court's jurisdiction.
Consequently, the district clerk must accept the cases for filing even if under the local rules family-law
cases may be assigned only to county courts at law.u
We answer your final question in a similar manner. You ask whether misdemeanor cases still
must be filed with the district clerk even if none of the district courts hear the cases. By "none," we
understand you to mean the 361st District Court since neither of the other district courts have
jurisdiction of misdemeanor cases. As you indicate, until November 1, 1995, the 361st District Court
did not hear misdemeanor cases. From the request letter you sent that resulted in Letter Opinion No.
96-060 (1996), we understand that the 361st District Court began accepting misdemeanor cases on
November 1, 1995, because "the Brazos County Attorney began for the first time to request regular
assignment of a portion of its misdemeanor cases" to that district court. You further informed us that
the 361st District Court agreed to accept the cases. You mention nothing about the local rules
adopted in accordance with the Court Administration Act; thus, we do not understand that prior to
November 1, 1995, the local rules precluded the 361st District Court from accepting misdemeanor
cases. Furthermore, as we stated in response to your previous question, the rules district and
statutory county court judges adopt under the Court Administration Act may not affect a court's
jurisdiction."
Under Government Code section 24.506(b), the district court has jurisdiction of misdemeanor
cases. By its terms, Government Code section 25.0232(g) requires the district clerk to act as clerk
of court in all cases in which the statutory county courts and district court have concurrent
jurisdiction. Accordingly, we conclude that the district clerk must accept for filing all misdemeanor
cases even if the 361st District Court does not hear misdemeanor cases in which the statutory county
courts and district court have concurrent jurisdiction,
22(...continued)
County constitutional county court appears to have no jurisdiction over family-law cases.
23See Gov't Code 74.093(bXI).
24Cf Fam Code 51.04(a) (providing juvenile court selected by county juvenile board with "exclusive original
jurisdiction" over cases involving delinquent conduct or conduct indicating need for supervision), Miller v. Woods, 872
S.W.2d 343, 346 (Tex. App.-Beaumont 1994, no writ) (stating that local rules may not confer subject matter jurisdiction
upon court otherwise lacking it).25See supra note 24 and accompanying text.
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Texas. Attorney-General's Office. Texas Attorney General Opinion: LO97-015, text, March 5, 1997; (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth277199/m1/6/: accessed July 16, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting UNT Libraries Government Documents Department.