36 S.W. 471 | Tex. Crim. App. | 1896
Appellant was convicted in the County Court of Tarrant County of carrying on and about his person a pistol. He had been previously convicted for the same offense in the City Court of Fort Worth, and, in bar of the prosecution in the County Court, pleaded the conviction had in the City Court. The plea of jeopardy was overruled, and the action of the court in this respect is presented as the only question for our decision in this case. The question is, did the legislature have the authority to confer upon the City Court of Fort Worth jurisdiction to try acts violative of the criminal laws of the State of Texas? By the act of March 20th, 1889, a special charter was granted the city of Fort Worth, and, among other things, said charter provided that the judicial power of said city be vested in a court known as the "Fort Worth City Court," presided over by a judge to be known as *250
the "City Judge," and given criminal jurisdiction as follows: "(1) To try and punish all misdemeanors over which the Recorder's Court of Fort Worth now has jurisdiction. (2) To try, determine, and punish all misdemeanors arising under the provisions of this charter; to have concurrent jurisdiction with the State courts over all misdemeanors against the laws of the State, committed within the city limits, except theft, swindling, aggravated assault, aggravated assault and battery, keepers or exhibitors of such games as are prohibited by law, and matters involving official misconduct; and to have exclusive jurisdiction over any violation of the Sunday laws, between the hours of 12 o'clock Saturday night and 9 o'clock Sunday morning, and between the hours of 4 o'clock P. M. Sunday and 12 o'clock Sunday night." Civil jurisdiction was prohibited this court, except in the forfeiture and collection of bonds. Section 28 of said charter provides, that "all processes of said court shall run in the name and by the authority of the city of Fort Worth, and shall conclude, against the peace and dignity of the city. * * * The style of process shall be The City of Fort Worth." Section 31 provides, "No appeal shall lie from this court, unless the fine is twenty dollars or more, and then only to the Court of Appeals." In so far as the charter sought to confer exclusive jurisdiction of State cases upon said City Court, it was held in Ginochio's case, 30 Tex.Crim. App., 584, that said charter was void, and it was further held that the legislature had no authority to divest the Justice Court of the power and jurisdiction conferred upon it by the constitution. The question of the authority of the legislature to confer upon said City Court jurisdiction concurrent with State courts, over violations of the State laws, was not discussed in that case, but was expressly pretermitted. Sec. 1, Art. 5, of the Constitution, ordains, that "the judicial power of this State shall be vested in one Supreme Court, and Courts of Civil Appeals, in Courts of Criminal Appeals, in District Courts, in County Courts, in Commissioners' Courts, in Courts of Justices of the Peace, and in such other courts as may be provided by law. * * * The legislature may establish such other courts as it may deem necessary, and prescribe the jurisdiction and organization thereof, and may conform the jurisdiction of the district and other inferior courts thereto." Section 16 of this article confers upon the County Court original jurisdiction of all misdemeanors, except those involving official misconduct, and those in which exclusive original jurisdiction is given to the Justice Court. Section 19, of said article, confers jurisdiction upon the Justice Court, in criminal matters, of all cases where the penalty or fine imposed by law may not exceed $200, with right of appeal from the judgment in said court in all criminal cases, without reference to the amount of the fine imposed in said court. Section 22, of the said article, provides that the legislature may, by local or general law, increase or diminish or change the civil and criminal jurisdiction of the County Court. The powers of the legislative, judicial and executive departments of the government of this State are each, by Article 2, of the Constitution, protected from encroachment by one *251
upon the others, and the powers conferred upon each cannot be infringed or abrogated by either or both of the co-ordinate branches of the government. It is not necessary to discuss this question. It is a plain, positive provision of the Constitution. In framing the provisions of Article 5, "it was the object of the framers of the Constitution to mark out a complete judicial system, defining generally the province of each of the courts by reference to the objects confided to the action of each, and the relation of each to the others. Such a system cannot be changed by action of the legislative department, when the power to make the change is conferred by the Constitution itself." Ex parte Towles,
Affirmed.
HURT, Presiding Judge, dissents.