Tex. Const. art. V, § 17 · Article 5. JUDICIAL DEPARTMENT
COUNTY COURT: TERMS, PROSECUTIONS, AND JURIES.
Text — Current through the amendments approved by voters in November 2025
The County Court shall hold terms as provided by law. Prosecutions may be commenced in said court by information filed by the county attorney, or by affidavit, as may be provided by law. Grand juries empaneled in the District Courts shall inquire into misdemeanors, and all indictments therefor returned into the District Courts shall forthwith be certified to the County Courts or other inferior courts, having jurisdiction to try them for trial; and if such indictment be quashed in the County, or other inferior court, the person charged, shall not be discharged if there is probable cause of guilt, but may be held by such court or magistrate to answer an information or affidavit. A jury in the County Court shall consist of six persons; but no jury shall be empaneled to try a civil case unless demanded by one of the parties, who shall pay such jury fee therefor, in advance, as may be prescribed by law, unless the party makes affidavit that the party is unable to pay the jury fee.
Notes and commentary — not constitutional text
History
(Feb. 15, 1876. Amended Nov. 5, 1985, and Nov. 6, 2001.) (TEMPORARY TRANSITION PROVISION for Sec. 17: See Appendix, Note 3.)
Source of truth
- Edition
- Current through the amendments approved by voters in November 2025
- Official file
- https://statutes.capitol.texas.gov/Docs/CN/htm/CN.5.htm
- Text hash
- sha256 fa8f0957d7f3a296650d4af0013999cc6fb51bfcceb97223b478cad4ae0885fe
- Composed by
- compose_tx.py 2026-10-05: the Legislative Council's chapter files read in document order; verify_tx.py's independent reading (lxml DOM walk) agrees character for character
Procedural information only. Not legal advice and not a substitute for the advice of an attorney. Confirm the current text with the official publisher before relying on it.