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JIM MATTOX Attorney General Supreme Court Building P. 0. Box 12546 hlh. TX. 76711. 2546 512l475.2501 ‘Telex 910/67*.1287 t eiecopier 5121475am
714 Jackson. Suite 700 Dallas. TX. 75202-4506 2141742-8944
4624 Alberta Ave.. Suits 160 El Paso, TX. 769052793 91515333404
lW1 Texas. Suite 700 Houston. TX. 77002.3111 7131222-5855
806 Broadway, Suite 312 Lubbock. TX. 7S4OM479 8061747.5236 4303 N. ienlh. Suite S McAllen. TX. 76501-1665 51216624547 200 Main Plaza. Suite 400 San Antonio, TX. 762052797 51212254191 q . ‘L ;..c :

c

. .~. . - 

# Jhe Attorney General of Texas

0':lrober

1. 1985'.

'

Honorable

Tim Curry '~:~.

.% s opinion

wo.m-358 Criminal

District

Attorney ..Li’ ;.:I’ ~, i? - ..:~.. .~ .~. 1 200 West BelknapSmeet 1 ;.:':I: .Re: -. Whether a separate docket Port Worth,Texas .76196 -' .-.'~- sheet la requiredfor the criminal

_. :, .'I 3:.. docketkept by district clerks : r:.% I Dear Hr. C&y: -i .~: j-. ...', 7 :: :. You inquire-

whether a d2stric;clerk's duty' to keep a criminal docket requires (I, clerk to maintain a separate docket sheet in criminal cases if xhe informationis also kept 011 the file jacket. You advise us that, during the pendeucy of criminal cases, your districtclerk recmxcds on the preprinted

file jacket of each case all pertinent informstim regarding, the style and file number, names of counsel, nature of the case, and subsequentactions and, on the dispositionof tLz case, the InformatIonfrom the preprinted file jacket is typed on s separatedocket sheetwhich is placed inside the jacket. In addition. all entries on the file jacket are being microfilmed

to inswe their preservation. You inquire about the docket described by article 33.07 of the Code of Criminal

Pmcedure. It provides: Each clerk of a court of recordhaving criminal
- juriadic!:!ion

shall keep a docket in which shallbe set don1 the style and file number of each criminal action, the nature of the offense, the names of counsel,the proceedings had therein,

and the date of each proceeding. See also Code Grim,Proc. art. 33.08 (courts controltheir dockets for

. _ . ..I An Equal OpportunityI setting or crm1na.L cases). Ailirmalire Aclion Employer .. The word "dockmet" has mme.rous mea&s. It may be an index of all cases filed in numerical and ~alphabetical order, a list or calendar

**of** pending judicial ,aatters that are set for specific action. end a record or history of all proceedings and actions taken in a particular

matter or ease. See Ballentine's Lav Dictionary366 (3rd ed. 1?69). -

p!. 1636Bonorablc Tim Curry - Page 2 (JM-358)

For civil cases, **the** Texas Bules **of** Civil Procedurerequire the districtclerks to keep a file docket "in convenient form, ” showing the number of the suit. ormar of attorneys and parties to the suit, the nature of the suit. thlt officer'r

return 00 the process.aud all subsequant

proceedingsin tlhc care. Rule 25. The clerks must also keep "a court docket in a well bound book" that includes the pleas-. motions,and rulings**of** the courtin each action. Rule 26. ' The Code of CriminalI'xocedure specifies

only the information to be kept for the docket that is mandated by article33.07,which is, in our opinion,a docket indwiug all csaea. **not** a file docket. consequently,

it has no bearingou the manner in vhich the file docket is to be kept. We concludetlat a clerkwho msintaiusa criminaldocket on a case file jacket in a **s,afe** and efficient manner complies

with the statutory

requirement

and tbat your clerkmay use the preprinted file jacketaa tbe record of the :necessary information.

A district clerk msy use the case file jacket to maintaina file. docketwithoutmaintaining the sane information

on a sepsrata sheet inside the jacket.



### ‘JIbt MATTOX . Attorney Generalof Texas TON CREBN First Assistant

AttorneyGeneera DAVID R. RICHARDS Executive

Assistant

Attorneg General ROBERTGRAY Syeci~l

Assistant Attorney Iteneral RICE GILPIN Chairman,

OpinionCommittee Prepared

by Nancy Suttonani SarahWoelk Assistant

Attorneys

General .

p. 1637 ,Honorable Tim Curry - Page 3 ml-358)

APPROVED: OPINIONCOHHITTEE Rick Gilpin.Chairman Susan Garrison Jim Moellinger Jennifer

Riggs Nancy Sutton SarahWoelk Bruce Youngblood

p. 1638