Art. 45A.005 PROSECUTING ATTORNEY

This rule explains who is allowed to handle criminal cases for the state in justice court and municipal court, which are the courts that deal with minor offenses like traffic tickets and small misdemeanors.

In justice court, the county attorney, district attorney, or one of their deputies must handle the case for the state. If someone wants to appeal a case from justice court to a higher court, a district attorney or deputy district attorney can do this, but only if the county attorney agrees to it first.

In municipal court, a city attorney or deputy city attorney handles cases for the state. The county attorney where the city is located can also step in and prosecute a case in municipal court if needed, but they cannot charge any fees for doing this extra work.

If a case needs to be appealed from municipal court to a higher court, like a county court, the city attorney or deputy city attorney can handle that appeal. However, they need permission from the county attorney before they can move forward with it.