Virginia Hammerle

There are two kinds of “people’s courts” in Texas: justice of the peace courts and small claims courts. Although these courts look similar, act similarly and actually share a judge, there are several important distinctions.

A justice of the peace court is set up through the Texas Constitution. Each Texas county is divided into precincts, and each precinct has an elected justice of the peace who holds court. A justice court hears cases that involve between $200 and $10,000. It can foreclose on mortgages, enforce liens on personal property and issue writs of attachment, garnishment and sequestration.

The justice court has exclusive jurisdiction on eviction cases, which involve someone’s right to possession of property. It cannot hear, however, cases that involve the title to a property. For example, a justice court could hear a landlord’s suit to evict a tenant from a house, but it couldn’t make a decision on a tenant’s claim that he was actually the owner of the house.   

The Legislature is constantly expanding the specific jurisdiction of justice courts. Most recently, it passed bills providing that justice courts can hear cases outside a municipality’s territorial limits relating to red-light cameras and municipal ordinances.

Small claims courts, in contrast, are set up by statute. Each justice of the peace also presides over a small claims court. The small claims court can hear cases that involve disputes on claims that are less than $10,000. It can’t hear the other matters heard by justice courts. 

Judgments of the small claims and justice of the peace courts that exceed $250 can be appealed to the county court. The county court reviews the case by “trial de novo,” meaning that the case is tried again. This is where the distinction between filing in justice court and small claims court can be critical. The county court’s judgment on an appeal from justice court is final, while its judgment on an appeal from small claims court can be appealed again to the court of appeals and then to the Supreme Court. 

For justice courts only, the county court can remove cases that involve more than $250 through a “certiori” process. This is different from an appeal because it carries an additional burden: A party has to show that the justice court did not have jurisdiction or that he suffered an “injustice” because of the final decision. The writ of certiori has to be issued within 90 days of the final judgment of the justice court.

VIRGINIA HAMMERLE is an attorney with Hammerle Finley Law Firm. The information in this column does not constitute legal advice. Call her at 940-383-9300.