County judge

United States

County Court systems are common in the United States, often led by a County Judge, but with jurisdiction varying between the states, and in many cases carry a mix of administrative law functions and executive responsibilities for governing the county. In Missouri, for example, the County Court deals largely with property registration and deeds as well as leading the county – in 1922, Harry S. Truman was elected as one of two County Judges for Jackson County, Missouri, becoming the county presiding judge in 1926, his two elected positions prior to entering the United States Senate. In states like New York, Massachusetts, and Pennsylvania, the County Courts conduct trials on misdemeanor, and even some felony, i. e. criminal matters.

The blurring of executive and judicial functions has developed on a state-by-state basis in response to local needs and so there is little uniformity between states, and even within states at times (differing interactions of rural and urban / municipal jurisdictions with each other and with the state government, for example). Tennessee and Oregon both have County Courts which are executive agencies, and which thus carry responsibility for funding local courts, jails, and Sheriff's departments, maintaining county roads, managing local property developments, and levying county-wide property taxes. In other areas, this body is often called a County Commission.

In Kentucky, each county has the similarly titled elected office of County Judge/Executive, who serves as the chief executive officer for the vast majority of counties.

Texas

In Texas, the County Judge is essentially the chief executive officer in the county. County Judges preside over the county's commissioners court, which is the county's governing body; they do not preside over a judicial court. It is similar to the position of county executive in other US states.

In Texas, the County Courts have original jurisdiction established under sections 15 to 17 of Article V of the State Constitution. Each of Texas's 254 counties has a single County Court, which shall be a "court of record" (section 15) with "jurisdiction as provided by law" (section 16),

Since the jurisdiction of County Courts and the judicial functions of the County Judge are both limited "by law" Individual counties are free to strip the County Judge of all judicial responsibilities, but this has not occurred in most places; County Judges undertaking judicial activities draw a supplemental salary, and in 2011 the Houston Chronicle reported that 85% of counties had judges drawing this stipend. The judicial education officer at the Texas Association of Counties, David Hodges, has noted that the rate of cases being overturned is higher for both the County Courts-at-law and for District Court judges than it is for County Judges. Some County Judges view the County Courts-at-law as supplements to, rather than replacements of, the County Court's judicial functions and so choose to preside in some criminal matters.

County Commissioners' Court

Each Texas County is presided over by a Commissioners' Court of four County Commissioners and the County Judge, plus the County Clerk as a non-voting ex officio member. Despite the terms "Court" and "Judge," the County Commissioners' Court has no judicial function, and although the County Judge presides over its meetings, the County Judge does not render judicial rulings. The Commissioners Court is just the title given in Texas to the county government, and County Judge the title given to the head of county government. This body is responsible for administration of the county, controlling the county tax rate, the budget for its responsible departments, and exercising oversight over subsidiary boards and commissions. Reviews and the court makes decisions by simply majority and is quorate with three voting members (except for levying tax where four members are required). Consequently, a County Judge is primarily the chief administrator for the county, effectively the chief executive officer, who exercises only limited judicial functions (varying between counties), though retaining the authority to conduct marriages and to conduct administrative hearings.

References

References

1. Oshinsky, David M.. (2004). "The American Presidency". [[Houghton Mifflin]].
2. (October 8, 2013). "Courts Outside New York City – County Court". Office of Court Administration, the [[New York State Unified Court System]].
3. "County Judges in Texas".
4. (November 2016}} An elected County Judge shall preside over the County Court for a four-year term (section 15) and have "judicial functions as provided by law," who may be replaced in cases of [[Judicial disqualification). "Texas Constitution (as amended) – Article 5: Judicial Department". [[State of Texas]].
5. Rice, Harvey. (December 2, 2011). "Galveston County judge's courtroom ability raises concern". [[Houston Chronicle]].
6. Swinney, Connie. (December 16, 2014). "Outgoing Burnet, Llano county judges reflect on service". DailyTrib.com (formerly the [[River Cities Tribune]]).
7. (2016). "County Commissioner". [[Texas Association of Counties]].
8. (2016). "County Judge". [[Texas Association of Counties]].
9. Dick Smith. (12 June 2010). "COUNTY COMMISSIONERS' COURT". Texas State Historical Association.
10. Glassman, James. (2015). "The Houstorian Dictionary: An Insider's Index to Houston". [[Arcadia Publishing]].
11. Brooks, David B.. (2016). "Guide to Texas Laws for County Officials". [[Texas Association of Counties]].