Justice of the Peace

Written By Stan Heston

What does the Justice of the Peace do in Texas?

  • Hears traffic and other Class C misdemeanor cases punishable by fine only

  • Hears cases up to $20,000 amount of controversy (changed September 1, 2020)

  • Hears landlord and tenant disputes

  • Hears truancy cases

  • Performs magistrate duties

  • Conducts inquests and weddings

  • Rules on debt claim cases

  • Selects six jurors for civil cases, not twelve

  • In civil cases, five out of six jurors' constituents a decision does not require unanimous agreement

  • Many more have additional areas

Public Information Act Training 

Texas government code section 552.012 provides elected or appointed public officials to complete an open records training course. The office of the Attorney General's training videos consists of information on each of the elements. The requirement of 80 hours of online training with 20 hours of continuing education each year.

To receive a certificate of completion, you must be "newly elected" I am not certified. To better understand the procedures and remedies, I provide a list of educational videos studied and completed.        

Justice Courts are different; they are "not a court of record." They do not have a court reporter or audio recording of the case. As a volunteer at Dallas Alternative Dispute Resolution Center, I mediated many appeal cases from various Justice of the Peace Courts around Dallas County.

The state of Texas has roughly 800 Justice Courts, at least 1 per county. They provide a low-cost remedy to a vast number of litigants seeking a resolution to their problem. As the plaintiff, I used the Justice Court system numerous times for debit collection and insurance claims.

  • Child Disabilities

  • Contracts, (numerous)

  • Pre-trial Risk Assessment

  • The Challenges and Opportunities of Self-Represented Litigants

  • Appeal de Novo

  • Post-Judgment Civil Procedures

  • Enforcement of Civil Judgments

  • Jurisdictional Increase and Justice Court, the $20,000 Question

  • Calculating Damages in Civil Cases, how much should the Judgment be?

  • Civil Causes of Action

  • Legal Information vs. Legal Advice

  • Environmental Hearings

  • Discovery in Justice Court

  • Plenary Power

  • Practical Debt Claim Issues

  • Fundamentals of Contracts

  • Agreed Judgments

  • Bail Reform

  • CARES ACT update and best practices

Additional courses were available as electives in civil discourse, about twenty-five in total. In Criminal Law, about fifteen classes are offered. Mediators are not present in criminal cases.

With one exception, Juvenile Justice. Family Law Judges can use mediators appointed in criminal cases, including advocates, social workers, teachers, and defense attorneys. Juvenile Law contains a vast number of rules and regulations for their protection.  

Stan Heston
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