A home-rule city may split a municipal court into panels or divisions, and the municipality may set related court-organization rules; the clerk and any temporary judge have specified duties and powers.
Sec. 29.007. MUNICIPAL COURT PANELS OR DIVISIONS; TEMPORARY JUDGES. (a) A home-rule city by charter or by ordinance may divide the municipal court into two or more panels or divisions, one of which shall be presided over by a presiding judge. Each additional panel or division shall be presided over by an associate judge, who is a magistrate with the same powers as the presiding judge. (b) The panels or divisions may hold concurrent or continuous sessions either day or night. (c) Each panel or division may exercise municipal court jurisdiction and has concurrent jurisdiction with the other panels or divisions. (d) Except as otherwise provided by the charter, the municipality by ordinance may establish: (1) the qualifications for appointment as a judge; (2) the ability of a judge to transfer cases, exchange benches, and preside over any of the panels or divisions; (3) the office of the municipal court clerk, who shall serve as clerk of all the panels or divisions with the assistance of deputy clerks as needed; and (4) a system for the filing of complaints with the municipal court clerk so that the case load is equally distributed among the panels or divisions. (e) Except as modified by this section, procedure before a panel or division and appeal from the decision of a panel or division is governed by general law applicable to municipal courts. (f) If the municipality has established the office of municipal court clerk, the clerk shall keep minutes of the proceedings of the municipal court and its panels or divisions, administer oaths, issue process, and generally perform the duties for the municipal court that a county clerk performs for a county court. (g) The municipality may provide by charter or by ordinance for the appointment of one or more temporary judges to serve if the regular judge, the presiding judge, or an associate judge is temporarily unable to act. A temporary judge must have the same qualifications as the judge he replaces and has the same powers and duties as that judge. Acts 1985, 69th Leg., ch. 480, Sec. 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1985.