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An ordinance amending the Chapter 2 of the City Code for the purpose of placing all provisions regarding Municipal Court Judges into a new Division 6, creating and establishing two Divisions of the Municipal Court of the City of Mesquite, Texas and creating the office of the City of Mesquite, Texas, Municipal Court Associate Judge.
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With anticipated increases to the municipal court dockets, the fiscal year 2022-23 budget adopted by the City Council included funding to staff a part-time Municipal Court Associate Judge to assist the Municipal Court Judge in presiding over the Second Courtroom with the goal of taking on more court cases thereby speeding up the final disposition of cases and appearance time for defendants.
Currently, the Municipal Court has one Municipal Court Assistant Judge and three Municipal Court Alternate Judges, all appointed by the City Council, who perform part-time duties such as warrants, emergency protective orders and court docket preparation when the Municipal Court Judge is unable to do so, often after regular working hours. The new Municipal Court Associate Judge will be appointed by the City Council and would oversee the docket of the Second Courtroom and will be a court magistrate with the same powers as the Municipal Court Judge.
As authorized by Section 29.007 of the Texas Government Code, this proposed ordinance will divide the Municipal Court into two divisions, one of which will be presided over by the presiding judge, Judge Hill, and the other by a Municipal Court Associate Judge. The two divisions may hold concurrent or continuous sessions either day or night, and each division may exercise Municipal Court jurisdiction and has concurrent jurisdiction with the other division. The ordinance would also create the office of Municipal Court Associate Judge and the duties and qualifications of the appointee to that office, and the ordinance would also consolidate all codification of Municipal Court officials into a ne...
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