Does a county court at law have jurisdiction to grant an aquittal within 30 days of the judgment? They are the trial court. Reading 55.02 mentions the district court but 55.01 mentions the trial court.

No. An expunction can only be filed in district court. Look at 55.02, sec.1 -- an expunction can be granted by "the trial court presiding over the case in which the defendant was acquitted, if the trial court is a district court, or a district court of the county in which the trial court is located".

TDCAA published a lovely book on expunctions that I think all prosecutors (and judges and defense attorneys) should have.

Thanks. I have read the portions of the book related to aquittals and the Code. It would appear 55.01 doesn't mention any court which is why I thought maybe a county court could have jurisdiction. Are you aware of any case law on this subject?

55.01 is just about who has the right to an expunction. 55.02 is about the process of getting one, so it's the only one that mentions a specific court to file in. There's not many cases on that issue, since the statutory language is so clear, but you might check out Gonzalez v. Rubalcaba, 667 S.W.2d 609 (Tex. App.--El Paso 1984, no pet.). They acknowledged that only district courts have authority to enter an expunction, but the El Paso County Court at Law had been given jurisdiction of a district court in certain circumstances and so could enter an expunction.

The Legislature also recognized this when they passed amended CCP Art. 102.006 last session (see SB 1224) relating to the fees for expunging an acquittal. From the bill analysis:

quote:

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AUTHOR'S / SPONSOR'S STATEMENT OF INTENT

A person arrested for the commission of either a felony or misdemeanor and later acquitted is entitled to have their criminal records expunged if certain conditions are met. Felonies are tried in district courts and misdemeanors are tried in county courts; however, only district courts are authorized to grant expunctions.

Under current law, a person charged with a felony in district court and then acquitted is permitted to seek an expunction in that court within 30 days of an acquittal, and no filing fees or costs are assessed. On the other hand, a person accused of a misdemeanor in a county court is not permitted to seek an expunction in the trial court; instead, the person is required to file a petition for expunction in a district court, where by law a filing fee and costs are assessed because it is a new proceeding. In other words, a person acquitted of a misdemeanor pays fees and costs for an expunction, while a person acquitted of a felony does not.

S.B. 1224 amends current law relating to a waiver of fees imposed for certain expunctions.

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Thanks for the help.