5. Texas Courts & Criminal Justice

Study

Chapter Summary

With the combination of a population of over 23 million residents and a tradition of limiting the powers of all institutions of government, the state of Texas has developed a complex statewide court system. The Texas court system has, in essence, two supreme courts. The Texas Supreme Court is the highest court authority involving civil cases. The Texas Court of Criminal Appeals is the court of last resort involving criminal cases. The state's principal trial courts are called district courts and total 437 districts. Many Texans are more familiar with Justice of the Peace Courts and Municipal Courts having jurisdictions dealing with a variety of minor misdemeanors, civil actions, traffic offenses, and small claims cases. For the most part, judges in the state of Texas are elected in partisan elections. Municipal court judges are typically appointed.

Texas leads the nation in executions, and the death penalty continues to be widely accepted while at the same time becoming less popular. A "tough on crime" attitude is reflected in a very large prison system and high incarceration rates.

Minorities and women are quite underrepresented in the state's courts. Since most are elected in partisan elections, campaigns can be long and the need to raise campaign funds has led some to contend, "justice is for sale in Texas."

Review questions

1. What contributes to the lack of a cohesive court structure in the state?
   



2. Should Texas retain its current system of selecting judges?
   



3. How might Texas decrease its incarceration rate?
   



4. Why are Texans so committed to the death penalty?