Honorable H. D. Stringer

County Attorney Hall County Memphis, Texas Dear Sir: Opinion No. O-5416 Re: Lack of jurisdiction of Justice Court over a criminal violation of a city ordinance which vlolatlon is not a violation of any State Law. Your request for opinion has been received and carefully considered by this department. Wequote from your request as follows:

"I would thank you to advise mewhether ajustice of the peace would have jurisdiction to try a case involving a violation of a city ordinance In a city in which the justice of peace sits. TherisIs noviolatlon of a state law involved. "SectIon 19, Article V, of the Constitution indicates that ajustice of the peace maytry any criminal case where the fine does not exceed $200.00 but I have been unable to find a case llmltlng this to violations of the state law." Article V, Sectlon 19, Texas Constitution, provides In part as follows:

"Justices of the peace shall have jurlsdlction in criminal matters of all cases whenthe Penalty or fine to be Imposed bx law maynot be more than twohundred dollars.

. . . Section 118, Crlmlnal Law, 12Texas Jurisprudence,, pages 396-T-8-9, reads as follows:

118 Criminil Pro,ed~~~p~~",~:~~s~ourts. -- The Codeof

"'The corporation court In each incorporated city, town or village of this State shall havejur-7

Honorable H,D

. Stringer, pdge 2 o-5416

isdiction within the corporate lnal cases arising under the OIlimits In all crlml dlnances of such city, townor village, and shall have concurrent jurisdiction with anyjustice of the peace in any precinct in which said city, town or village Is situated In all criminal cases arising under the criminal laws of this State, In which punishment is by fine only, andwhere the maximumof such fine maynot exceed twohundred dollars, andarising within such corporate limits. (Art. 62, C.C.P.)

“This provision expressly gives corporation ! courts authority andjurisdiction to try offenses arising out of violations of municipal ordinances, andalso to try offenses arising under the general pnal laws of the State, within the limits prescribed.

“Under the amendmentto the constitution glvlng the legislature power to ‘establish such other courts as it maydeemnecessary andprescribe the jurisdiction and organization thereof, ’ andto

‘conform the jurisdiction of the district and other inferior courts thereto, ’ the legislature has power to glve corporation courts jurisdiction to try persons for offenses against state laws. In prosecutions for offenses of this character the corporation courts have jurisdiction concurrently with anyjustice of the peace ln anyprecinct in which the city is situated in all cases where the punlshment Is by fine only andwhere the maximumfine does not exceed two hundred dollars if the offense has been committed within the city limits; but the courts maynot be given jurisdiction to try mlsdemeanor offenses punishable by imprisonment, at least in cities operating under the homerule provisions of the constitution; nor maythey be clothedwith exclusive jurisdiction over infractions of state laws to the exclusion of justices’ courts or other courts created by the constitution.” (Bracket Insertion ours) Asfar as wehave been able to determine the question submitted by you has not been directly passed on by our Texas courts. However, ln the case of Exparte Levine, 81 S. W. 1206, where relator hadbeen convicted in the city court of Corslcana for the violation of a city ordinance, wefind the following significant language in the court’s opinion:

“In regard to the corporation court in which relator was convicted, while I regard the effortHonorable H. D. Stringer, page 3

in the charter to constitute that a state court as o-5416

futile andwithout effect (here the court cited several authorities), still this was a case exclusively cognizable by amunicipal court as such, and it hadjurlsdictlon to try and Dunish relator upon convlctlon of a municipal offense Drovlded for by city ordinance." (Bracket insertion andunderscoring ours) It is our.opinion that ajustice court does not have criminal jurisdiction over a violation of a city ordinance which vlolatlon does not also constitute a violation of the penal law of the State. Very truly yours ATTORNEY

GENERAL

OFTEXAS

Bys/Wm.J. Fanning Wm.J. Fanning Assistant WJF:db:wc

APPROVED

JULY1, 1943 s/Gerald C. Mann A'ITORNEYGENERAL OFTEXAS Approved Opinion Committee Bys/BWSChairman i