Texas Attorney General Opinion: LO97-015 Page: 5 of 7
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The Honorable James M. Kuboviak - Page 5 (Lo9 7-0 15)
and conduct in need of supervision, we believe section 25.0232(a), like Government Code section
23.001, provides a county court at law or a district court only with the possibility that it may be
designated as the juvenile court under Family Law section 51.04; without that designation, the court
lacks jurisdiction over cases involving delinquent conduct and conduct in need of supervision. Thus,
under section 25.0232(g), the district clerk must accept for filing cases involving delinquent conduct
and conduct in need of supervision only if the Brazos County juvenile board has designated a county
court at law as well as a district court as the juvenile court. The district clerk must accept for filing
all other family law cases because the district courts and county courts at law have concurrent
jurisdiction of them.
Accordingly, in answer to your question regarding whether the district clerk is the appropriate
clerk for all of the juvenile cases in Brazos County, we must give a two-fold answer. If by the phrase
"juvenile cases," the judge means family-law cases and proceedings, then the district clerk is,
consistent with Government Code section 25.0232(g), the appropriate clerk for all of the cases except
those involving delinquent conduct or conduct indicating a need for supervision. On the other hand,
the district clerk is the appropriate clerk for cases involving delinquent conduct or conduct indicating
a need for supervision only if the Brazos County juvenile board has given exclusive original
jurisdiction of the cases concurrently to a statutory county court or courts and a district court or
courts (or if the juvenile board has granted exclusive original jurisdiction to a district court or courts).
You ask whether the district clerk must assign juvenile cases to all five of the Brazos County
courts "because all five courts have juvenile jurisdiction"21 or whether the selection of county courts
alone to hear the juvenile cases falls within the discretion of the local judges under the Court
Administration Act's provisions. Again, we are uncertain whether you mean family-law cases or
proceedings or cases involving delinquent conduct or conduct indicating a need for supervision. If
you mean cases involving delinquent conduct and conduct indicating a need for supervision, then as
we have said, under the Juvenile Justice Code (not the Court Administration Act), the Brazos County
juvenile board may designate one or more courts to serve as the juvenile court, and only that court
or courts has exclusive original jurisdiction over those cases. The clerk of court, be it district or
county, may assign those cases only to the designated juvenile court.
If, on the other hand, you use "juvenile cases" as synonymous with family-law cases other
than cases involving delinquent conduct and conduct indicating a need for supervision, then
Government Code section 25.0232(aX2)(B) provides Brazos County courts at law and district courts
with concurrent jurisdiction." Section 25.0232(g) does not address how the district clerk must assign
21By rferring to five Brazos County courts, we assume you mean the three district courts that serve Brazos County
plus the two county courts at law.
~The constitutional county cotat of Brazos County has juvenile jurisdiction in accordance with Government Code
section 23.001. See Gov't Code 26.042(b), .121. Consequently, it has jurisdiction only over cases involving delinquent
conduct and conduct in need ofsupervision if the county juvenile board designates it as a juvenile court under Family Code
section 51.04(b). See Famr. Code 51.04(c) (stating that ifjuvenile board designates county court as juvenile court, juvenile
board must designate at least one other court as juvenile court). Unless it is designated as the juvenile court, the Brazos
(continued...)
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Texas. Attorney-General's Office. Texas Attorney General Opinion: LO97-015, text, March 5, 1997; (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth277199/m1/5/?q=%221997~%22: accessed July 16, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu.; crediting UNT Libraries Government Documents Department.