There are several treaties that mandate relationships between the United States and foreign nations and their nationals. One is of primary concern at the local level, the Vienna Convention on Consular Relations of 1963 (“Vienna Convention”)1. Other treaties and acts of legislation are also useful and instructive to this discussion; however, the primary focus of this paper is the Vienna Convention, local responsibility for enforcement, and issues facing foreign nationals in court.

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As a practical matter, Spanish is a relatively easy language to speak because a word sounds exactly as it is spelled. Once you learn the sound of the letter, you should be able to pronounce the word phonetically, if nothing else. The purpose of this course is not to make you fluent in Spanish; rather, our objective is two-fold. First, we hope to provide you some guidance in common areas, such as the courtroom, in dealing with non-native English speakers — primarily Spanish speakers. Speaking louder, slower and with an accent does not improve communication – it makes the speaker look foolish and the listener remains unenlightened. Our second goal is to provide you with some cultural sensitivity and understanding which will enhance the professionalism of your courtroom. With these goals in mind, we have outlined several scenarios below and provided a translation of
particular phrases. We suggest you write the Spanish out phonetically to assist with future pronunciation.

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Municipalities have legislative authority, or police power, to enact ordinances with the full force and effect of law. A municipality’s authority under it’s police power is broad with the ultimate purpose of safeguarding the health and general welfare of its citizenry. It is not, however, without limits – regulations must have a rationale basis and reasonably promote the intended purpose.
There are essentially four types of municipalities: Home Rule Municipalities and General Law Cities, Type A, Type B, or Type C. Ordinances are the product of the legislative functions of a City Council generally authorized under state statute or city charter. Municipal courts have exclusive original jurisdiction in all cases that arise under a City’s ordinances, as well as have civil abatement authority in some instances. This paper is to familiarize you with the authority underlying ordinances, the basic structure of ordinances and the options available to the courts for attaining compliance.

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What the legislature started in 2001, it failed to correct by the passage of SB 782. More specifically, SB 782, effective June 18, 2003, amends Article 103.0031, of the Texas Code of Criminal Procedure, by expanding the collection services for which a county and municipality can contract, as well as establishing new procedures. This publication does not purport to address all the issues presented by the newly enacted legislation; rather, this is but a brief purview into the morass that is Article 103.0031. The author recommends that each governmental body critically review the legislation, and any proposed contract, with legal counsel and judicial representatives to ensure the governmental interests are protected and the appropriate procedures implemented.

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    Cities and counties have attempted in numerous ways to collect upon delinquent fines and judgments, from the use of warrant officers and warrant round ups, to abstracting judgments to outsourcing its collection efforts through private companies. Although, statistically, in–house collection may be more successful, outsourcing is a viable method, especially given this past legislative session and the passage of SB 782, which amended Article 103.0031 of the Texas Code of Criminal Procedures, to apply to municipalities and counties as follows:

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    The instances and statistics of assaults of intimates escalating from a simple offensive contact to death are staggering. These intimate or familial-based assaults are commonly known as “family or domestic violence” assaults. The state has granted law enforcement broad authority and placed a heavy obligation to investigate and prosecute these offenses, and especially, protect the victim. This paper addresses procedures and provides guidelines on how to confront this all too common crime.

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Municipalities have legislative authority, or police power, to enact ordinances with the full force and effect of law. A municipality’s authority under it’s police power is broad with the ultimate purpose of safeguarding the health and general welfare of its citizenry. It is not, however, without limits – regulations must have a rationale basis and reasonably promote the intended purpose.

There are essentially four types of municipalities: Home Rule Municipalities and General Law Cities, Type A, Type B, or Type C. Ordinances are the product of the legislative functions of a City Council generally authorized under state statute or city charter. Municipal courts have exclusive original jurisdiction in all cases that arise under a City’s ordinances, as well as have civil abatement authority in some instances. This paper is to familiarize you with the authority underlying ordinances, the basic structure of ordinances and the options available to the courts for attaining compliance.

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I. STUDENT CODES OF CONDUCT
Each public school district in Texas must have a properly adopted student code of conduct that includes the following: (1) established standards for student conduct; (2) the circumstances under which a student may be removed from a classroom, campus, or alternative education program in accordance with the provisions of the discipline law; (3) the conditions that authorize or require a principal or other appropriate administrator to transfer a student to an alternative education program; and; (4) the conditions under which a student may be suspended or expelled from school.
Any change or amendment to the student code of conduct must be approved by the board of trustees. The board of trustees may adopt the student code of conduct without any involvement from the county juvenile board, even in those counties where the county juvenile board is required to create a juvenile justice alternative education program for expelled students.
Student codes of conduct should include the provisions required by Chapter 37 as well as local provisions adopted at the board’s discretion. Listed below are examples of issues that the school board and district-level committee might consider when developing or amending the district’s student code of conduct.

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How many of us have been faced with a recalcitrant defendant who, despite numerous judgments pronouncing guilt, refuses to pay the fine? What is a City to do? Unfortunately, despite many remedies at our fingertips, the choices require the expenditure of time and money, some nominal, some excessive. The purpose of this article is to provide one low-cost, effective, civil alternative to capias pro fine warrants, to assist with the collection of municipal court judgments - abstracting judgments.

Article 45.047 of the Texas Code of Criminal Procedure expressly provides that a “justice or judge may order the fine and costs collected by execution against the defendant’s property in the same manner as a judgment in a civil suit.” An abstract of judgment is a time-honored civil remedy that places a judgment lien on the defendant’s real property in any county where the abstract is properly recorded. Chapter 52.001, et seq., of the Texas Property Code governs the issuance and application of abstracting judgments. The purpose of abstracting a judgment is two-fold: 1) to create a statutory lien on property where none previously existed; and 2) to give notice of a pre-existing judgment lien on property. Since the judgment lien is purely statutory in nature, the provisions of the Texas Property Code must be strictly complied with before the lien is established.

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