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1989-177ORDINANCE NO ??'1 / AN ORDINANCE AMENDING CHAPTER 8 (MUNICIPAL COURT) OF THE CODE OF THE CITY OF DENTON, TEXAS, BY REPEAL OF THE EXISTING "COURT" CHAPTER AND BY ADOPTION OF A NEW "MUNICIPAL COURT" CHAPTER, PROVIDING FOR A MAXIMUM PENALTY OF $200 00 THEREFORE, FOR VIOLATIONS OF SECTION 8-34 THEREOF, PROVIDING FOR PUBLICATION, AND PROVIDING FOR AN EFFECTIVE DATE THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF DENTON HEREBY ORDAINS SECTION I That Chapter 8 of the Code of Ordinances of the City of Denton, Texas, is hereby amended to read as follows CHAPTER 8 MUNICIPAL COURT ARTICLE I ESTABLISHMENT OF THE COURT Sec 8-1 Creation There is hereby created a municipal court to be known as the Municipal Court of the City of Denton, which shall be comprised of two divisions Any reference hereinafter to the Court shall be understood to mean the Municipal Court of the City of Denton Sec 8-2 Jurisdiction The municipal court of the city established by the City Charter shall have jurisdication in all criminal cases arising under the ordinances of the city and in all cases arising under the criminal laws of the state, pursuant to Section 29 003, Government Code The municipal court has jurisdiction in the forfeiture and final judgment of all bail bonds and personal bonds taken in criminal cases of which the court has jurisdiction Sec 8-3 - 8-10 Reserved ARTICLE II OFFICERS OF THE COURT Sec 8-11 City Judge One division of the Court shall be presided over by a Judge known as the City Judge, who shall be directly responsible to the City Council for the conduct of the Court in a dignified manner and in accordance with the laws of this State and the ordinances of the City of Denton Such Judge shall also be a magistrate The City Judge shall have the powers, duties and qualifications for City Judge as prescribed by the City Charter The City Judge may also be referred to as the Municipal Judge Sec 8-12 Assistant City Judge The Court may be presided over by a judge known as the Assistant City Judge, who shall be a magistrate with the same judicial and magisterial powers and duties as the Municipal Judge of the Municipal Court, and who shall be appointed in the manner prescribed by the City Charter, and shall possess the same qualifications as the Municipal Judge The Assistant City Judge shall preside under direction of the City Judge The Assistant City Judge may also be referred to as the Assistant Municipal Judge Sec 8-13 Municipal Court Clerk (a) In order to release the City Judge from all administrative responsibilities relative to personnel performing services supportive to the Court, the office of the Municipal Court Clerk is hereby established as a division of the Court (b) The Municipal Court Clerk shall be appointed by the Executive Director of Finance, in consultation with the Municipal Judge and the City Attorney, subject to confirmation by the City Manager, and shall have the powers and duties prescribed by the laws of this State and the City Charter Any references to Court Administrator, Clerk of the Court, or Clerk shall be understood to mean Municipal Court Clerk (c) The Municipal Court Clerk shall appoint Deputy Court Clerks as needed, subject to approval of the Executive Director of Finance and the City Manager, and such deputies shall act in - 2 - and for the Municipal Court Clerk in the performance of their duties (d) The Municipal Court Clerk or his deputies shall keep the minutes of the Court proceedings, administer oaths, issue process, make certificates and affix the Court seal thereto, and generally perform the duties for the Court that a County Clerk performs for a County Court sec 8-14 Prosecutor The City Attorney shall appoint a suitable and qualified person to hold the position of Assistant City Attorney, who shall be charged with the duty of prosecuting all cases in Court, and be subject to such other assignments as the City Attorney may direct Sec 8-15 Court Bailiffs Appointment and Duties (a) The Chief of Police, upon the request of the judge, shall furnish one or more police officers to serve as Court Bailiffs during the convening of the Court, and when, in the judgment of said Judge, a Bailiff is necessary to maintain proper decorum during Court proceedings (b) The principal duties of the Court Bailiff shall be as follows 1 To preserve order and decorum while court is in session, 2 Provide security to the Courts building, 3 Assemble and supervise witnesses and jurors, 4 Attend to the jury and inform the Judge about the needs and decisions of the jury, 5 Maintain custody of prisoners in the courtroom and arrange for their transportation to jail when requested by the Judge, 6 Transfer messages and perform other tasks assigned by the Judge Sec 8-16 - 8-20 Reserved - 3 - ARTICLE III PROCEEDINGS OF THE COURT Sec 8-21 Criminal Complaints and Pleadings (a) All proceedings in the Court shall be commenced on a written complaint prepared and filed by or under the direction of the City Attorney or an Assistant City Attorney, except when State law provides that a written complaint is unnecessary (b) When no written complaint is required, the proceeding shall commence upon the filing of the citation (c) Complaints and citations shall be filed with the Municipal Court Clerk (d) Complaints shall begin "In the name and by authority of the State of Texas" and shall conclude against the peace and dignity of the State " If the offense charged is a violation of a city ordinance, the complaint may also conclude "contrary to the said ordinance " (e) Complaints may be signed by any credible person on information and belief, and sworn to before a notary public, the City Attorney, an Assistant City Attorney, a Judge, Municipal Court Clerk, Deputy Court Clerk, or City Secretary, each of whom, for that purpose, shall have the authority to administer oaths (f) All pleas shall either be made in writing and filed with the Municipal Court Clerk, or made in open court before a Judge (g) Any additional pleadings in the court shall be in writing and filed with the Municipal Court Clerk, except when waived by a Judge (h) The Municipal Court Clerk shall file the original complaint and the original of other papers and proceedings in each case under the direction of the Judges such documents constitute the records of the Court and a separate record book shall not be required W The records of the Court, including dockets shall be preserved for a period of at least three (3) years following the disposition of any particular cause, and thereafter, the same may be disposed of, or destroyed upon authorization of - 4 - the City Attorney The Court's permanent minutes may be maintained by computer records or any other method authorized by State Law Sec 8-22 Jurors All Jurors shall be residents of the City of Denton and shall possess the same qualifications as Jurors in the State courts Sec 8-23 Rules Governing Proceedings All proceedings in the Court shall be governed by the laws of the State of Texas In those areas not specifically covered by the Texas Code of Criminal Procedure and elsewhere in the Texas laws, or by ordinance, the City Judge of the Municipal Court shall establish such Court rules as are necessary to establish reasonable and consistent procedures for the operation of the Court Sec 8-24 No Complaint to be Dismissed Except Upon Order of a Judge No complaint shall be dismissed except upon order of a Judge and in accordance with the law Sec 8-25 - 8-30 Reserved ARTICLE IV ADMINISTRATION OF THE COURT Sec 8-31 Budgetary Responsibilities The City Judge shall participate in the budget process of the City of Denton as it relates to all personnel and property with the Judges' Office, the courtroom, and all appurtenances connected therewith The budgetary responsibilities and procedures as to all other support personnel of the Court, and appurtenances thereto shall be as directed by the Municipal Court Clerk, sub3ect to the approval of the Executive Director of Finance and the City Manager or his designee - 5 - Sec 8-32 Collection and Disbursement of Funds The Municipal Court Clerk shall establish formal procedures for the collection and disbursement of funds so that all fines, fees, costs, and monies collected and disbursed may be properly accounted for All fines shall be paid into the City Treasury sec 8-33 Authority to Issue Citations A director of any City department, or his authorized representative, shall have the power to issue one or more citations for violation of City ordinances to any person to appear in the Court, if the Director or representative has probable cause to believe that the person is criminally responsible for any offense within the jurisdiction of the Court Sec 8-34 Violation of Promise to Appear (a) A person lawfully released from custody, whether by posting bond or by signing a written notice to appear, on condition that he subsequently appear in the Court, shall appear in accordance with the terms of his release (b) The requirement for appearance in Court is met if counsel appears on behalf of a person required to appear (c) For purposes of this section, "custody" means an arrest or a detention for purposes of issuing a written citation by a police officer or by a person authorized to issue citations under Section 8-16 of this Chapter (d) An offense under this section is a Class C misdemeanor punishable by a fine of $1 00 to $200 00 Sec 8-35 Court Fees Court costs or fees are hereby authorized to be imposed and collected in accordance with the provisions of the state law and the maximum fees therein expressed are hereby authorized to be imposed Sec 8-36 Warrant Fees and Special Expenses (a) Warrant fees are hereby authorized to be imposed and collected in accordance with the provisions of Article 45 06, Texas Code of Criminal Procedure and the maximum fees therein expressed are hereby authorized to be imposed - 6 - (b) Special expenses for services performed in cases in which the laws of this State require that the case be dismissed because of actions by or on behalf of the defendant which were subsequent to the date of the alleged offense are hereby authorized to be imposed and collected in accordance with the provisions of Article 45 06 Texas Code of Criminal Procedure (c) The Court is hereby authorized to assess as a special expense, an amount not exceeding Ten Dollars ($10 00) in traffic cases, where state law requires dismissal or allows dismissal due to some act of the defendant Those instances are the taking of a driver safety course, correction of an expired driver's license, expired motor vehicle inspection sticker and expired registration within ten (10) days of the issuance of the citation and any other instance as provided by State law Sec 8-37 - 8-39 Reserved ARTICLE V INSPECTION AND ABATEMENT WARRANTS Sec 8-40 Definitions For the purposes of this Article, the following words shall have the meanings hereinafter designated Inspection Warrant - A written order, issued by a magistrate and directed to any inspector, as defined in this Section, commanding him to inspect specific premises to determine the presence of a violation or violations of any City ordinance or other law that provides for such inspections to be conducted by City inspectors, and, when the inspector is also a peace officer, the City Code, laws of the State of Texas and the United States Inspector - Any peace officer of the State of Texas or any official inspector for any department of the City of Denton, Texas, which is charged with code enforcement, including, but not limited to, inspectors for the departments of Planning, Building Inspection, Housing, Fire, and Health Sec 8-41 Warrants Authorized Except as provided in Section 8-40, inspectors are hereby authorized to seek and obtain Inspection Warrants from a - 7 - magistrate before making any inspection incidental to the enforcement of any provision of this Code of Ordinances or other law that provides for such inspection, when the inspector is also a peace officer, incidental to the enforcement of the City Code, laws of the State of Texas, and the United States A magistrate is hereby authorized to issue such warrants subject to the requirements of this Chapter Sec 8-42 Warrants Not Required Inspection Warrants shall not be required under the following circumstances (a) when permission to inspect has been granted by someone apparently having charge or control of those premises, for the purpose of this subsection, permission to inspect may be granted either verbally, in writing or by some other action indicating consent, or (b) when there exists an imminent danger or peril to human life, limb, or property and any delays resulting from the application for an Inspection Warrant would materially increase the likelihood of loss from such danger or peril, or (c) when the inspection can be executed in areas held open to the general public, or (d) when the inspection is of a business recognized by law as being a traditionally licensed and regulated enterprise for which no reasonable expectation of privacy exists Sec 8-43 Requirement for Issuance of Inspection Warrant (a) No Inspection Warrant shall be issued except upon citation to specific laws requiring or permitting inspections or on the presentation of evidence of probable cause to believe that a violation or violations of the Code of Ordinances, or state or federal statutes providing for such inspections to be made by city inspectors are present in the premises sought to be inspected In determining probable cause, the magistrate is not limited to evidence of specific knowledge, but may consider any of the following 1 the age and general condition of the premises, 2 previous violations or hazards found present in the premises, - 8 - 3 the type of premises, 4 the purposes for which the premises are used, and 5 the presence of hazards or violations in, and the general condition of, premises near the premises sought to be inspected (b) A sworn affidavit setting forth substantial facts toward establishing probable cause or the statutory basis for inspection shall be filed in every instance in which an Inspection Warrant is requested sec 8-44 Inspection Warrant Formalities An Inspection Warrant issued pursuant to this Chapter shall be sufficient if it contains the following requisites (a) that it run in the name of "The State of Texas, (b) that it identify, as near as may be, those premises to be inspected, (c) that it command an inspector to inspect forthwith the premises described, and (d) that it be dated and signed by the magistrate Sec 8-45 Execution of Warrants An inspector to whom an inspection warrant is delivered shall execute it without delay and forthwith return it to the proper magistrate It may be executed within three days from the time of its issuance, and shall be executed within a shorter period if so directed in the warrant If such persons cannot be found, upon execution of the warrant, a copy of said warrant shall be affixed to the front door of the building or premises inspected Sec 8-46 Days Allowed for Warrant to Run The time allowed for the execution of an inspection warrant shall be three whole days, exclusive of the day of its issuance and of the day of its execution The magistrate issuing a warrant under the provisions of this Article shall endorse on such warrant the date and hour of the issuance of the same - 9 - Sec 8-47 How Return is Made Upon returning the inspection warrant, the inspector shall state on the back of the same, or on some paper attached to it, the manner in which it has been executed and shall likewise deliver to the magistrate a copy of the report resulting from that inspection Sec 8-48 Power of Inspector Executing Warrant The execution of a warrant issued pursuant to this Article shall not include any authority to make arrests or to seize tangible goods of a violation, except where the inspector is a peace officer or the items are to be seized by a peace officer and are within the items listed in Texas Code of Criminal Procedure, Article 18 02 (1)-(9) and (11) Sec 8-49 Records to be Kept The magistrate shall keep a record of all proceedings had before him in the cases of inspection warrants as part of the official records of his court Sec 8-50 Conflicts No provision of this Article is intended to conflict with any state or federal law and the powers and rights granted herein are intended to be in addition to any rights granted by state or federal law SECTION II That all ordinances or parts of ordinances in force when the provisions of this ordinance become effective which are inconsistent or in conflict with the terms or provisions contained in this ordinance are hereby repealed to the extent of any such conflict SECTION III That all sections of this ordinance except for Section 8-34 shall become effective immediately from the date of passage and approval Section 8-34 shall become effective fourteen (14) days from the date of its passage, and the City Secretary is hereby directed to cause the caption of this ordinance to be published twice in the Denton Record-Chronicle, the official newspaper of - 10 - the City of Denton, Texas, within ten (10) days of the date of its passage PASSED AND APPROVED this the l= day of JGl~l~ , 1989 RAY ST HPWS, MA R ATTEST By J LTERS, CITY SECRETARY APPROVED AS TO LEGAL FORM DEBRA ADAMI DRAYOVITCH, CITY ATTORNEY BY Ld6jAj ":J~X , 61 - 11 - i i Y 1 1 ~f 1 i ~ f } i i , i , i