Municipal Court

The Fredericksburg Municipal Court is responsible for the adjudication of all Class C misdemeanor offenses cited or filed by the Fredericksburg Police Department or City Code Enforcement, which includes offenses under the Transportation Code, Penal Code, Education Code, Health and Safety Code, Alcoholic Beverage Code, and violations of City Ordinances.

The judiciary is made up of a Presiding Judge and Associate Judge. The Judges preside over all initial appearance dockets, show cause dockets, pretrial hearings, bench trials and jury trials. The Presiding Judge serves on a four-week rotation with the District Court Judge and County Court at Law Judge as the reviewing Judge for warrants presented during the week, after hours and weekends. The Presiding Judge also serves on a five-week rotation with county Justices of the Peace as magistrate for individuals arrested by the Fredericksburg Police Department, Gillespie County and State law enforcement officers and is on call for Emergency Mental Health Detentions during the week, after hours and weekends.

The Municipal Court Clerk serves as the administrative arm of the Municipal Court. The Clerk’s duties include but are not limited to timely and accurate processing of case documents that are filed; responses to requests for information from defendants or members of the public; collection of assessed fines and costs; and efficient docketing of cases.

• Provide equal access to justice for all those who come before the Court
• Preserve judicial independence
• Provide excellence in service
• Maintain the public’s trust and confidence in the Court

• Ensure that Court rules and procedures comply with due process, equal protection, and sound public policy

• Initiated review of all active and inactive cases on the court’s docket and the correlating Office of Court Administration reporting categories to evaluate status of each case to reduce the overall caseload and any backlog. The overall caseload was reduced by 4,443 cases.
• Evaluated and modified office procedures to improve efficiency
• Completed annual staff education requirements and certifications ensuring current knowledge of both law and procedural issues that are applicable to the Court
• Continued revision of forms and procedures to clarify information, making the forms easier to read and understand for the public and allowing the Court to process cases in a more efficient manner

• Implement standards and procedures for the efficient processing of cases and overall reduction in the number of pending cases
• Review all active and inactive cases on the court’s docket to ensure disposition of all cases
• Conduct initial warrant audit and conduct future warrant audits on a quarterly basis
• Remodel the court space to provide a safe and secure environment for staff, litigants, and the public
• Ensure proper data entry for Office of Court Administration reporting requirements
• Meet the annual education and certification requirements and engage in updated court administrative software training
• Educate the public on the functions of the Municipal Court