When a case is appealed from municipal court for a trial de novo, and the defendant is convicted, who receives the fines and court costs?

My initial guess is the county. Article 44.281 of the CCP deals with the issue when a case is affirmed from municipal court, which I take to mean affirmed from a court of record, as opposed to an appeal for a trial de novo, which is treated as if the case was originally filed in the county court.

Anybody else have a different take on the issue?

I now can't remeber where I found it but the last time I looked at that issue I believe my research lead me to the conclusion that the fine or most of it was suppposed to go back to the municipality....I can't remember about the court cost, seems like the county may get to keep those. It has been a couple of years since I looked as the city was wanting their $ for all the appealed cases that they never received. Thankfully, they forgot about it and the issue has not come up again(they never got me a list of the cases in question), but I remember thinking we were going to have to remit those amounts to the city.
Sorry I don't remember details!

If either of you, or anyone else is interested I have an old text book put out by the State Bar in 1971 which has a nice article on traffic cases and on appeal into county court. I will give you a couple of citations (which I have not pulled or read) which the article says stand for the proposition that "the cases stands on the docket of the county as though originally filed there". Ex Parte McNamara 26 SW 506 Tex Crim 1894. Ex parte Swift 358 SW2d 629 Texas Crim 1962, Art 44.14.45.10 and 45.48 CCP.

If you want more then post a reply and I will be glad to fax a few pages of the article on the appeal process.

John Hutchison CA, Hansford County

Now this is going to drive me crazy until I can find my reseach from last time....I just remeber I was pleased that the city failed to get me the info, as that failure avoided what was bound to be an ugly dispute about who owed who what.

MW-478 cites an old section of the CCP that says the fine on a de novo appeal goes back to the municipality....
Also see section 44.281 CCP(coupled with 44.17), don't know if that applies to the situation under consideration here or not. What do you think?

I think I'm glad Sweetwater's muni court is a court of record - - I'm spared one headache!

One of my JP's has told me that his association says the municipal fines stay with the County after a de novo appeal.
TAC has told my county judge the fines go to the Municipality.

Going from memory, I believe TAC is right, but I cannot find the prior research I did. I think there was more recent authority than what I cited in the prior post and I have not had time to look further.

A.G. opinion MW-478 (1982) stated that the $ must go to the municipal court. I would post a link if I knew how to do it. However, the opinion was based on a statute that no longer exists, art. 45.11 of the CCP, which stated the money went to the city (corporation). I could not find similar language in any other current statute. I didn't see it addressed anywhere in arts. 45, 42, or 103. Therefore, I think it stays with the county unless the city can come up with some current law to the contrary. While your clerk and/or treasurer and/or auditor might be personally liable if it is wrongfully transferred, I expect the city would return the money.

Well, I had not looked at art.44, mentioned by mhartman above. My position (and our clerk's) is still the same, however, since the two provisions in 44 when read together seem to require transfer of the money to the city only when there has been a judgment "affirmed", as in an appeal from a municipal court of record. I sure don't plan on asking for an AG opinion!

Jurisdiction and money stay with the county. At least that is the position the municipal training center took for years. The cities don't want to be responsible for all the cost responsibility anyway.

So, on an appeal of a case from a court of recrod, the money goes back to the municipality but in all other cases it stays with the county? Also, if the Appellant loses the appeal with the County Court (from a municipal court of record) is the next appeal a PDR or a regular appeal to the Court of Appeals?

The answer to your query depends on whether the municipal or justice court is a "court of record."

If that court is not a "court of record," then the "appeal" of a class C misdemeanor (such as a traffic offense like speeding) will generally be to the County Courts at Law (or possibly the County Court), in which the subsequent proceedings are a trial de novo. In my opinion, such a hearing is not an "appeal" in the truest sense of that term because the proceedings at the County Court level may involve a new jury and a new trial record, including a new jury. Upon conviction in the County Court, the defendant may appeal the conviction to the appropriate intermediate Court of Appeals. See, e.g., Tollett v. State, 219 S.w.3d 593 (Tex. App.-Texarkana 2007, pet. ref'd). Gregg County cases may be appealed to either the Twelfth Court of Appeals (Tyler) or the Sixth Court of Appeals (Texarkana). See Tex. Govt. Code Ann. 22.201 (g, m) (Vernon 2004).

The situation changes, however, if the municipal or justice court is a "court of record." In that case, the appeal is to either the county criminal courts, the county criminal courts of appeal, the municipal court of appeal, or the county courts at law. See, e.g. Tex. Govt. Code Ann. 30.0014 (a) (Vernon 2004). The appeal from municipal courts of record are more akin to traditional appellate proceedings in the Courts of Appeal or the Court of Criminal Appeals. See Tex. Govt. Code Ann. 30.00016, 30.00017, 30.00019, 30.0021, 30.00024. Thereafter, the judgment from this appellate forum may be appealed to the geographically appropriate intermediate court of appeals, provided the judgment assessed exceeds $100 and was affirmed by the "lower" appellate court. Tex. Govt. Code Ann. 30.0027 (Vernon 2004).