Bill Would Allow Municipal Judges To Perform Inquests
Vince Leibowitz | Feb 18, 2009 | Comments 0
If passed, a bill filed in the Texas Legislature today could give municipal justices the right to perform a duty long in the provenance of the state’s justices of the peace and medical examiners: perform inquests.
The bill, HB 1399 by State Rep. Ryan Guillien (D-Rio Grande City) does not remove a justice of the peace’s ability or authority to perform an inquest in their precinct or in a municipality; it simply gives municipal judges the power to perform inquests within their municipalities.
I don’t really understand the necessity for the bill, and can’t imagine that a lot of municipal judges would want this added responsibility (or that cities would want to foot the bill involved with inquests–especially since the agency that refers the body to a lab for autopsy usually foots the bill for transportation and autopsy).
Also, I wonder if a city’s extraterritorial jurisdiction is included in the definition of the municipality for the purposes of this bill? I suspect it is, and I suspect that could cause some conflicts between municipal judges and justices of the peace in some rural counties.
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Filed Under: 81st Texas Legislature
