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INFORMAL REPORT TO CITY COUNCIL MEMBERS No. 10274
May 14, 2019
To the Mayor and Members of the City Council
Page 1 of 2
SUBJECT: THE ROLE OF MAGISTRATES
All judges, including Municipal Court judges, are magistrates. Magistrates are generally involved in the in
the preliminary stages of a criminal proceeding.
The duties of peace officer and magistrates are detailed in the Code of Criminal Procedure. Article 14.06
provides that peace officers must take the accused before a magistrate when a warrantless arrest is made
pursuant to one of the exceptions to the warrant requirement. Such exceptions are stated in Chapter 14.
Similarly, Article 15.17 requires that individuals arrested pursuant to a warrant also be brought before a
magistrate. Presentation before a magistrate must take place without unnecessary delay, but in no event
more than 48 hours after the person is arrested.
When a child is involved, the preliminary stages of a child being taken into custody are governed by Title 3
of the Texas Family Code, not Article 15.17 of the Code of Criminal Procedure. When children are taken
into custody the process is a civil proceeding and the child is
adults. Magistrates are also frequently involved in providing the warnings pursuant to Section 51.095 of
the Texas Family Code which governs the taking of a written or oral confession by a child.
Processing of Class B and higher Offenses and Fort Worth City Ordinance Violations
The Fort Worth Municipal Court judges perform the function of a magistrate when they warn adult
offenders of their respective rights as required by law. Under the current process, the City of Fort Worth
magistrates are responsible for determining probable cause on alleged criminal violations that are Class B
or higher.
At the jail, the Fort Worth Municipal Court judge accepts pleas on Fort Worth Class C offenses, issues
protective orders, sets hearings, issues appearance bonds, place conditions on bonds, and commits
defendants to jail on Class C Capias Pro Fine warrants. They also issue search and arrest warrants, set bail
on arrest warrants, order mental health assessments and mental health transfers to JPS on Class C
defendants with a mental illness posing an imminent risk or harm to themselves or others.
City of Fort Worth ordinances are Class C, fine only violations. There are two ways that a person who
receives a Class C violation will appear before a City of Fort Worth magistrate:
1) when an officer personally observes a violation in his/her presence, the officer has the option
of issuing a citation or taking the person before a magistrate; and
2) a person is arrested for an offense and a check of their record reveals outstanding Fort Worth
Class C warrants.
In either event, the person is booked into jail and scheduled to see a magistrate. The magistrate will conduct
a hearing with the defendant, explain their rights, ask for their plea, inform the defendant of outstanding
judgements, discuss the reason for not resolving the citation(s), and consider alternatives such as indigency,
granting another time payment plan, community Service, and ultimately make a decision and process the
case(s).
ISSUED BY THE CITY MANAGER FORT WORTH, TEXAS
INFORMAL REPORT TO CITY COUNCIL MEMBERS No. 10274
May 14, 2019
To the Mayor and Members of the City Council
Page 2 of 2
SUBJECT: THE ROLE OF MAGISTRATES
Jail Commitments for Class C Offenses
The legal ability of the magistrate to commit an Arrested Person (AP) to serve jail time on Class C
violations is limited. Commitment is generally not legally appropriate if a judgement has not been entered
on a case. Likewise, commitment is generally not legally appropriate if the AP has not been given an
opportunity to resolve the judgement through alternative means including both a payment plan and
community service pursuant to Texas Code of Criminal Procedure, Section 45.046 45.049. Further,
commitment is not legally appropriate if an AP claims or appears to the magistrate to be indigent. To
summarize, jail commitment may be legally appropriate if an AP has failed and refused to satisfy a
judgement on an adjudicated Class C citation, despite being given the appropriate and legally required
opportunities. If the AP is brought before the magistrate and the AP has Class C Capias Pro Fine warrants,
the magistrate will ultimately decide whether or not to commit the AP to jail.
A question was raised concerning the City ordinance regarding aggressive panhandling. The chart below
addresses the number of such citations that have been issued.
Violation Summary Chart Regarding Filed Filed Filed
Panhandling and Public Intoxication FY2017* FY2018 FY2019** Total
Aggressive Panhandling in Aggressive Manner 22 53 47 122
Aggressive Panhandling Prohibited Area 104 248 115 467
Aggressive Panhandling Private Property 3 9 1 13
* January 23-September 30, 2017
** October 1-April 30 2019
If you have any questions, please contact Chief Judge Danny Rodgers, Municipal Court at 817-392-6715.
David Cooke
City Manager
ISSUED BY THE CITY MANAGER FORT WORTH, TEXAS