The Court structure in Texas is so confusing. It is simply amazing to me that anything gets done within the Judicial System. There are 3 distinct problems in my mind, the number of layers, the educational background required for some of the lower court levels, and the election system.
The court structure in Texas is so confusing; there is no need for 5 layers. I think the court system coul
d be narrowed down to 4 layers, Municipal Court, County Court, District Court, and Court of Appeals (Supreme and Criminal Appeals). The confusion comes in when there are multiple court systems that overlap in the cases they hear. Even within the County level, the jurisdiction is overlapping. This simply is not necessary. The Municipal Courts should be combined with the Justice Courts; they cover for the most part the same jurisdiction. The County courts should have 2 courts, the County Court of Law and the Probate Court. The District Court remains as is, but the Court of Appeals seems to be one more level of court system to have to go through. There should be a panel that reviews if an appeal can go to the top level, but does not need to be another level of judiciary chaos.
d be narrowed down to 4 layers, Municipal Court, County Court, District Court, and Court of Appeals (Supreme and Criminal Appeals). The confusion comes in when there are multiple court systems that overlap in the cases they hear. Even within the County level, the jurisdiction is overlapping. This simply is not necessary. The Municipal Courts should be combined with the Justice Courts; they cover for the most part the same jurisdiction. The County courts should have 2 courts, the County Court of Law and the Probate Court. The District Court remains as is, but the Court of Appeals seems to be one more level of court system to have to go through. There should be a panel that reviews if an appeal can go to the top level, but does not need to be another level of judiciary chaos. The educational requirement for some of the lower courts is almost appalling. I can’t believe that you do not need to at least have a degree in law to be on some of these lower courts. I feel that while you may not need to have “seat” experience, you should at least be well versed in the law for all levels of the court system, this should include a degree in Law at the minimum. I think without this the citizens of Texas are being dealt a great injustice.
The final major issue is the election system in which they are forced to participate. I think that all judges should be appointed by the House and affirmed by a 2/3 vote in the Senate. While this will not alleviate the partisan issue entirely, it will help. Judges should not have to worry about where their campaign dollars come from and if their judgment is in line with the party they represent. Their ruling should always be based on the law, and we need to alleviate anything that might change that.
Until this issue is addressed, our judicial system will be broken. This is one area that impacts all citizens of Texas and should be at the forefront of the issues the legislature works to fix.
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