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The Attorney General of Texas 

March 13, 1978 

JOHN L. HILL 

Attorney General 

Honorable James F. Hury, Jr. 

Criminal District Attorney 

Galveston County 

405 Galveston County Courthouse 

Galveston, Texas 77550 

Opinion No. H-1134 

Re: Jurisdiction of county 

courts at law in Galveston 

County. 

Dear Mr. Hury: 

You ask whether the County Court No. 1, County Court No. 2, and 

Probate and County Court of Galveston County have jurisdiction to hear 

cases involving juvenile offenders and dependency and neglect petitions filed 

by the State Child Protective Services. 

Your question arises because of the Family District Court Act which 

replaced Courts of Domestic Relations with Family District Courts. V.T.C.S. 

art. 1926a. This act repealed article 2338-16, V.T.C.S., which had established 

the Galveston County Court of Domestic Relations and provided it with its 

juvenile jurisdiction. V.T.C.S. art. 1926a, S 3.04(b)(17). Both the Galveston 

County Court No. 1 and the Probate and County Court had been basing their 

juvenile jurisdiction on section 8(a) of article 2338-16, which gave the County 

Court No. 1 and the County Court No. 2 (now renamed the Probate and 

County Court) concurrent jurisdiction over matters affecting juveniles with 

the Court of Domestic Relations. The newly-created County Court No. 2 was 

given the same jurisdiction over juvenile matters as the County Court No. 1, 

the Probate and County Court, and the Court of Domestic Relations. 

V.T.C.S. art. 1970-342b, S 15. 

The specific question we must consider, then, is whether the repeal of 

article 2338-16, V.T.C.S., removes the jurisdiction affecting juveniles from 

the County Court No. 1, County Court No. 2, and the Probate and County 

Court of Galveston County. 

The jurisdiction of the Probate and County Court is set forth in article 

1970-342, section 1, V.T.C.S., which states, in pertinent part: 

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Honorable James F. Hury, Jr. - Page 2 (R-1134) 

The court shall have . . . civil and criminal jurisdiction as 

provided by the Constitution and General Laws for county 

courts and as provided herein. 

The jurisdiction of County Courts is set forth in article 5, sections 8 and 16 of 

the Texas Constitution. The authority to decide matters affecting juveniles is 

given under these provisions. See In re Cockrell, 493 S.W.2d 620 (Tex. Civ. App. - 

Amarillo 1973, writ ref’d n.r.exAttorney General Opinions H-1082 (1977), H-325 

(1974). Since the Probate and County Court of Galveston County has been 

conferred all the jurisdiction, including juvenile, of the constitutional county 

courts, we conclude that it has authority to decide matters affecting juveniles 

irrespective of the repeal of article 2338-16, V.T.C.S. 

The jurisdiction of County Court No. 1 is set forth in article 1970-342a, 

section 2(b), V.T.C.S., which grants it the same jurisdiction as the County Court 

and County Court No. 2 (now called the Probate and County Court). Since we have 

already concluded that these latter two courts have juvenile jurisdiction, County 

Court No. 1 must have that authority also. 

The jurisdiction for the recently created County Court No. 2 is set forth in 

V.T.C.S. art. 19’70-342b, 5 2b, which states: 

The County Court No. 2 of Galveston County shall have the 

same jurisdiction and powers in civil actions, matters, and 

proceedings that are now or may be conferred by law upon 

and vested in the County Court of Galveston County, the 

County Court No. 1, the Probate and County Court, and the 

judges thereof. The jurisdiction of the County Court of 

Galveston County, the Probate and County Court, and the 

County Courts Nos. 1 and 2 of Galveston County over all 

such actions, matters, and proceedings, civil and criminal, 

within Galveston County shall be concurrent. 

The statutory language is clear that the jurisdiction of all four courts is concurrent. 

County Court No. 2, therefore, possesses the same juvenile jurisdiction that we 

have concluded is vested in the other three courts. 

There is ample support that it is the intent of the Legislature that these 

courts exercise juvenile jurisdiction. In part of the same statute creating the 

County Court No. 2, it states: 

The judge of the County Court No. 2 shall be a member of 

the Juvenile Board of Galveston County and shall have the 

same jurisdiction over juvenile proceedings as the judges of 

the County Court No. 1, the Probate and County Court, and 

the Court of Domestic Relations for Galveston County, with 

juvenile proceedings filed sequentially in the County Court 

No. 1, the Probate and County Court, the County Court No. 

2, and the Court of Domestic Relations. 

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Honorable James F. Hury, Jr. - Page 3 (H-1134) 

V.T.C.S. art. 1970-342b, S ,15. Here is a clear indication that the Legislature 

intended that the new County Court No. 2, the County Court No. 1, and the Probate 

and County Court have jurisdiction over matters affecting juveniles. This statute 

was passed during the same legislative session as the Family District Court Act 

and, therefore, the two acts should be construed in harmony if at all possible. See 

Attorney General Opinion M-951 (1971). 

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Nor does anything in the Family District Court Act reveal a different 

intention. This Act substitutes district courts of general jurisdiction, to be called 

family district courts, for the existing domestic relations courts. V.T.C.S. art. 

1926a, S 1.02(a). The Act gives the court primary responsibility, but not exclusive 

jurisdiction, over family law matters. V.T.C.S. art. 1926a, S 1.03(b). A Family 

District Court for Galveston County is created to replace the Court of Domestic 

Relations. V.T.C.S. art. 1926a, S 2.07. 

The statute does not grant exclusive jurisdiction over juvenile matters to the 

Family District Courts. Nothing in the statute, absent the repealer, would indicate 

that the Legislature intended to curtail the jurisdiction of any court. There is 

nothing unusual about the Legislature creating specialized courts to share the 

caseload of courts of more general jurisdiction, see State ex rel Rector v. 

McClelland, 224 S.W.2d 706 (Tex. 1949), and this appearsto be what the Legislature 

intended here. 

SUMMARY 

The County Courts Nos. 1 and 2 and the Probate and County 

Court of Galveston County have jurisdiction over matters 

affecting juveniles. 

Attorney General of Texas 

DAVIES KENDALL, First Assistant 

C. ROBERT HEATH, Chairman 

Opinion Committee 

jst 

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