Under this new section the penalty for failure to yield right of way if a person, other than the operator of the vehicle, suffers serious bodily injury "is punishable by a fine of not less than $1,000 or more than $4,000." Despite the high fine amount, It seems to me these are class C misdemeanors filed in municipal or justice court. Any thoughts?

Thought 1: Does the Transp. Code have a provision stating which court has jurisdiction over these offenses? If not, see Thought 2.

Thought 2: I think you are right. See CCP 4.11 (JP court has jurisdiction of fine-only offenses)and Penal Code 12.41 (non-PC offense punishable by fine only = Class C).

Burke v. State, 915 S.W.2d 551 (Tex. App.--Houston [14th Dist.] 1995, pet. ref'd) held that in a case involving passing a school bus (which has a maximum fine that exceeds $500), the justice and county courts have concurrent jurisdiction. The court cited DM -285 (1994) which considered a first offense charge under the same statute.

Janette A