The Different Levels Of Texas Courts

All state level governments have a third equal branch of government known as the judiciary. The States all have different ways of selecting or appointing judges to the bench. Each state has different levels of courts with in its own justice systems and the Judges are selected and elected for different terms in each state.
There are three characteristics of the Judicial system in Texas that make it stand out from other states, one is that Texas has two appellate courts of last resort, its trial courts do not have uniform jurisdiction of subject matter and the judges are chosen in partisan elections (Womack, 2018). In Texas, all levels of Judges are elected to the individual court positions through a partisan ballot. Each candidate for
office is labeled democrat, republican or independent or any other party and are placed on the ballot for the people to vote on. Judges in Texas at all levels are elected to serve 6-year terms except for the district court judges which serve 4-year terms (Selection of Judges, 2018). All Judges stand must be re-elected and may serve until a mandatory retirement age of 75 years old. The Texas Judiciary is broken down into several levels. The top two courts are the Supreme Court and the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals. The unique thing about Texas is the Supreme Court of Texas does not hear appeals concerning criminal matters. This is the function of the Court of Criminal appeals. The other courts are broken down even further. There are 14 Appeals courts which are set up by districts and 432 district courts. Other courts include the Justice Courts which are presided over by an elected Justice of the Peace, and they hear criminal cases with misdemeanor offences and fines below five hundred dollars and civil cases with actions below ten thousand dollars. In addition, each city in Texas is allowed by legislation to establish municipal courts which can hear criminal cases involving misdemeanor crimes below five hundred dollars in fines and violations of city ordinances. Both court levels cannot sentence anyone to prison or death penalty. The next level of courts in Texas are called the county level and district courts. All appeals from the lower levels of courts are heard through these levels. Cases can also be submitted directly to these levels. County Courts can sentence people to prison but not death. County courts hear civil actions between two hundred and ten thousand dollars and are the original courts for misdemeanors with fines above five hundred dollars and jail time and they hear juvenile matters. The District courts are the first level to hear all felony cases. There is a District Court in each county in Texas. Some counties may have more than one and some may preside of more than one county. The District courts can sentence to prison and to death. The district courts hear civil actions over two hundred dollars with no maximum amount. They hear all divorce matters and land title disputes as well as juvenile cases. Texas compared to other states has one of the most complex courts systems in the nation (Womack, 2018).
In the other states Georgia and Ohio, both judicial offices are filled by candidates going through a non-partisan election and placed on ballot with no political party affiliations listed.
In both Georgia and Ohio, the State Supreme Court is the court of last resort in both states, Judges are elected to 6-year terms and can stand for reelection and remain in office until retirement age of 70. Both States have an intermediate level called the Court of Appeals. The Appeals courts are the first level of appeal in both states. In Ohio there are 12 and in Georgia there is one court of appeals. It has five divisions and with three judges each and hears all cases except those involving constitutional questions, murder, and habeas corpus cases where the original appellate jurisdiction lies with the Supreme Court of Georgia (State Courts,
2018).
The next level in the judiciary in Georgia is the Superior Courts or trial courts. They are divided into 10 districts and with 49 circuits and 205 judges. Each County ion Georgia has its own Superior Court. In Georgia, there are several courts of limited jurisdictions. The Georgia State courts are countywide courts with limited jurisdictions. They hear cases involving misdemeanor crimes and sentences less than 1 year in jail. The Georgia Juvenile courts handles all cases involving children under age 17. The Probate courts are courts which handle all cases involving wills, estates, and all guardianship cases. The Georgia Magistrate courts do not conduct any trials and may handle a range of cases Most often magistrate judges review and sign warrants. The last level in Georgia is the Municipal courts where cases involving city and county ordinances of the county and cities are handled.
The Trial courts in Ohio are called the Ohio Courts of Pleas.
They are in each county on Ohio for a total of 88. The Courts are divided into 4 divisions. General division handles all cases involving criminal felonies and all civil matters greater than 15,000 dollars. The Domestic division handles all cases dealing with divorce, separations, child support and custody and parental rights. The juvenile division just like most states handles all matters involving children under the age of 18. The Probate division handles all cases involving wills, estates, and inheritances. The Last level in Ohio judiciary is the County courts and municipal courts. These courts handle all county and municipal traffic cases and misdemeanors and civil actions up to 15,000 dollars (State Courts,
2018).
All three states judiciary do not get involved in establishing political policy. The state Supreme court in all three states is involved to the extent that they are judging whether any laws concerning policy are constitutional and settle cases in law where it is questioned.