The term county judge is applied as a descriptor, sometimes as a title, for a person who presides over a
county court
A county court is a court based in or with a jurisdiction covering one or more counties, which are administrative divisions (subnational entities) within a country, not to be confused with the medieval system of ''county courts'' held by the high ...
. In most cases, such as in
Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland ( ga, Tuaisceart Éireann ; sco, label= Ulster-Scots, Norlin Airlann) is a part of the United Kingdom, situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, that is variously described as a country, province or region. Nort ...
and the
Victorian County Courts, a county judge is a
judicial officer with
civil
Civil may refer to:
*Civic virtue, or civility
*Civil action, or lawsuit
* Civil affairs
*Civil and political rights
*Civil disobedience
*Civil engineering
*Civil (journalism), a platform for independent journalism
*Civilian, someone not a membe ...
or
criminal
In ordinary language, a crime is an unlawful act punishable by a state or other authority. The term ''crime'' does not, in modern criminal law, have any simple and universally accepted definition,Farmer, Lindsay: "Crime, definitions of", in Can ...
jurisdiction. In the United States, however, there are some "County Courts" which exercise primarily administrative functions, in which case the County Judge may exercise largely or solely
executive authority
The Executive, also referred as the Executive branch or Executive power, is the term commonly used to describe that part of government which enforces the law, and has overall responsibility for the governance of a state.
In political systems ba ...
and be equivalent to the
county executive
A county executive, county manager or county mayor is the head of the executive branch of government in a United States county.
The executive may be an elected or an appointed position. When elected, the executive typically functions either as a ...
in other local government areas.
United States
County Court systems are common in the United States, often led by a County Judge, but with jurisdiction varying between the states, and in many cases carry a mix of
administrative law
Administrative law is the division of law that governs the activities of government agency, executive branch agencies of Forms of government, government. Administrative law concerns executive branch rule making (executive branch rules are gener ...
functions and
executive
Executive ( exe., exec., execu.) may refer to:
Role or title
* Executive, a senior management role in an organization
** Chief executive officer (CEO), one of the highest-ranking corporate officers (executives) or administrators
** Executive dir ...
responsibilities for governing the county. In Missouri, for example, the County Court deals largely with property registration and deeds as well as leading the county – in 1922,
Harry S. Truman
Harry S. Truman (May 8, 1884December 26, 1972) was the 33rd president of the United States, serving from 1945 to 1953. A leader of the Democratic Party, he previously served as the 34th vice president from January to April 1945 under Franklin ...
was elected as one of two County Judges for
Jackson County, Missouri
Jackson County is located in the western portion of the U.S. state of Missouri. As of the 2020 census, the population was 717,204. making it the second-most populous county in the state (after St. Louis County). Although Independence retains ...
, becoming the county
presiding judge
A chief judge (also known as presiding judge, president judge or principal judge) is the highest-ranking or most senior member of a lower court or circuit court with more than one judge. According to the Federal judiciary of the United States, th ...
in 1926, his two elected positions prior to entering the
United States Senate
The United States Senate is the upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the House of Representatives being the lower chamber. Together they compose the national bicameral legislature of the United States.
The composition and pow ...
. In states like New York, Massachusetts, and Pennsylvania, the County Courts conduct trials on
misdemeanor
A misdemeanor (American English, spelled misdemeanour elsewhere) is any "lesser" criminal act in some common law legal systems. Misdemeanors are generally punished less severely than more serious felonies, but theoretically more so than adm ...
, and even some
felony
A felony is traditionally considered a crime of high seriousness, whereas a misdemeanor is regarded as less serious. The term "felony" originated from English common law (from the French medieval word "félonie") to describe an offense that resu ...
, i. e.
criminal
In ordinary language, a crime is an unlawful act punishable by a state or other authority. The term ''crime'' does not, in modern criminal law, have any simple and universally accepted definition,Farmer, Lindsay: "Crime, definitions of", in Can ...
matters.
The blurring of executive and judicial functions has developed on a state-by-state basis in response to local needs and so there is little uniformity between states, and even within states at times (differing interactions of
rural
In general, a rural area or a countryside is a geographic area that is located outside towns and cities. Typical rural areas have a low population density and small settlements. Agricultural areas and areas with forestry typically are describ ...
and
urban
Urban means "related to a city". In that sense, the term may refer to:
* Urban area, geographical area distinct from rural areas
* Urban culture, the culture of towns and cities
Urban may also refer to:
General
* Urban (name), a list of people ...
/
municipal
A municipality is usually a single administrative division having corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate.
The term ''municipality'' may also mean the go ...
jurisdictions with each other and with the state government, for example).
Tennessee
Tennessee ( , ), officially the State of Tennessee, is a landlocked state in the Southeastern region of the United States. Tennessee is the 36th-largest by area and the 15th-most populous of the 50 states. It is bordered by Kentucky to th ...
and
Oregon
Oregon () is a U.S. state, state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. The Columbia River delineates much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington (state), Washington, while the Snake River delineates much of it ...
both have County Courts which are executive agencies, and which thus carry responsibility for funding local courts, jails, and
Sheriff's departments, maintaining county roads, managing local property developments, and levying county-wide property taxes. In other areas, this body is often called a
County Commission
A county commission (or a board of county commissioners) is a group of elected officials (county commissioners) collectively charged with administering the county government in some states of the United States; such commissions usually comprise ...
.
In
Kentucky
Kentucky ( , ), officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States and one of the states of the Upper South. It borders Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio to the north; West Virginia and Virginia to ...
, each county has the similarly-titled elected office of
County Judge/Executive
A County Judge/Executive (or simply, Judge/Executive, and often written Judge-Executive) is an elected official in the U.S. Commonwealth of Kentucky who is the head of the executive branch of a government in a county. The Judge/Executive is an '' ...
, who serves as the
chief executive officer
A chief executive officer (CEO), also known as a central executive officer (CEO), chief administrator officer (CAO) or just chief executive (CE), is one of a number of corporate executives charged with the management of an organization especially ...
for the vast majority of counties.
Texas
In Texas, the
County Courts have
original jurisdiction
In common law legal systems original jurisdiction of a court is the power to hear a case for the first time, as opposed to appellate jurisdiction, when a higher court has the power to review a lower court's decision.
India
In India, the S ...
established under sections 15 to 17 of Article V of the
State Constitution. Each of
Texas's 254 counties has a single County Court, which shall be a "court of record" (section 15) with "jurisdiction as provided by law" (section 16),
which is exclusive over "Class A" and "Class B" misdemeanors (offenses that can involve jail time), concurrent over civil cases concerning small to moderate amounts, and with appellate jurisdiction over
justice of the peace
A justice of the peace (JP) is a judicial officer of a lower or ''puisne'' court, elected or appointed by means of a commission ( letters patent) to keep the peace. In past centuries the term commissioner of the peace was often used with the sa ...
and district / municipal court cases (involving a trial ''
de novo'' if the lower court is not a "court of record"). An elected County Judge shall preside over the County Court for a four-year term (section 15) and have "judicial functions as provided by law," who may be replaced in cases of
judicial disqualification or recusal (section 16).
Juries
A jury is a sworn body of people (jurors) convened to hear evidence and render an impartial verdict (a finding of fact on a question) officially submitted to them by a court, or to set a penalty or judgment.
Juries developed in England dur ...
in criminal trials "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" (section 17).
Since the jurisdiction of County Courts and the judicial functions of the County Judge are both limited "by law"
their extent is defined by legislative actions. County Judges do not require any formal qualifications in the discipline of law. Most are not qualified to practice law – in 2015, 42 of County Judges (17%) had graduated from
Law school
A law school (also known as a law centre or college of law) is an institution specializing in legal education, usually involved as part of a process for becoming a lawyer within a given jurisdiction.
Law degrees Argentina
In Argentina, ...
and only 40 (16%) were
licensed to practice law.
This can be problematic,
but with a caseload well beyond the capabilities of a single person, the
Texas Legislature
The Texas Legislature is the state legislature of the US state of Texas. It is a bicameral body composed of a 31-member Senate and a 150-member House of Representatives. The state legislature meets at the Capitol in Austin. It is a powerful ...
has created County Courts-at-law where only qualified
lawyer
A lawyer is a person who practices law. The role of a lawyer varies greatly across different legal jurisdictions. A lawyer can be classified as an advocate, attorney, barrister, canon lawyer, civil law notary, counsel, counselor, solic ...
s may preside, to which many of the judicial responsibilities of the County Judge have been transferred.
Individual counties are free to strip the County Judge of all judicial responsibilities, but this has not occurred in most places; County Judges undertaking judicial activities draw a supplemental salary, and in 2011 the ''
Houston Chronicle
The ''Houston Chronicle'' is the largest daily newspaper in Houston, Texas, United States. , it is the third-largest newspaper by Sunday circulation in the United States, behind only ''The New York Times'' and the ''Los Angeles Times''. With it ...
'' reported that 85% of counties had judges drawing this stipend. The judicial education officer at the Texas Association of Counties, David Hodges, has noted that the rate of cases being overturned is higher for both the County Courts-at-law and for District Court judges than it is for County Judges.
Some County Judges view the County Courts-at-law as supplements to, rather than replacements of, the County Court's judicial functions and so choose to preside in some criminal matters.
County Commissioners' Court
Each Texas County is presided over by a
Commissioners' Court
Commissioners' court, or in Arkansas a quorum court, is the governing body of county government in three US states: Arkansas, Texas and Missouri. It is similar in function to a board of county commissioners. A similar system was in place in the ...
of four
County Commissioner
A county commission (or a board of county commissioners) is a group of elected officials (county commissioners) collectively charged with administering the county government in some states of the United States; such commissions usually comprise ...
s
and the County Judge,
plus the
County Clerk
A clerk is a white-collar worker who conducts general office tasks, or a worker who performs similar sales-related tasks in a retail environment. The responsibilities of clerical workers commonly include record keeping, filing, staffing service ...
as a non-voting ''
ex officio
An ''ex officio'' member is a member of a body (notably a board, committee, council) who is part of it by virtue of holding another office. The term '' ex officio'' is Latin, meaning literally 'from the office', and the sense intended is 'by right ...
'' member. Despite the terms "Court" and "Judge," the County Commissioners' Court has no judicial function, and although the County Judge presides over its meetings, the County Judge does not render judicial rulings. The Commissioners Court is just the title given in Texas to the county government, and County Judge the title given to the head of county government.
This body is responsible for administration of the county, controlling the county tax rate, the budget for its responsible departments, and exercising oversight over subsidiary boards and commissions.
The County Judge presides over meetings
but has no veto power,
Reviews and the court makes decisions by simply majority and is
quorate with three voting members (except for levying tax where four members are required).
Consequently, a County Judge is primarily the chief administrator for the county, effectively the
chief executive officer
A chief executive officer (CEO), also known as a central executive officer (CEO), chief administrator officer (CAO) or just chief executive (CE), is one of a number of corporate executives charged with the management of an organization especially ...
,
who exercises only limited judicial functions (varying between counties), though retaining the authority to conduct marriages and to conduct administrative hearings.
References
{{Reflist
Counties
Judges
Legal professions