Municipal Court

Duties

The court’s responsibilities include processing all citations that are issued for violations of state law and city ordinances for all violations issued prior to September 1, 2011. Moving forward, all other violations issued will be handled by the Justice of the Peace Precinct 3. The Court will continue to hold bench and jury trials until all prior pending cases are taken care of. The next court setting is schedule for August 24, 2023 @ 6 p.m.  at the Shenandoah Municipal Complex.

Citations

Check your citation to see when you are scheduled for arraignment.  If you are unsure of your court date you may contact the office. You may appear before your scheduled arraignment date to enter your plea. For more information, call the Municipal Court at 281-298-5522.

Juvenile Cases

Juveniles (under age 17) must have a parent or guardian present with them at all court appearances. It is at this time you make your plea before the judge and inform him how you wish to handle the citation.

Pleas

  • Guilty - you admit you committed the charge(s) for which you are accused and wish to pay the fine(s) assessed.
  • No Contest - you do not contest the State’s charge(s) against you, but do not wish to admit your guilt.
  • Not Guilty - you contest the charge(s) in your case and the State must prove the charges against you. With this plea, you will be given the opportunity to request either a bench trial or a jury trial. Your case will then be reset to the nearest trial date.

Self Representation

If you plan to represent yourself, the Texas Judicial Branch website will give you information.

Arraignment Options

You may request one of the following options during arraignment:

  • Defensive Driving Course
  • Deferred Disposition 
  • Payment Plan 
  • Payments Made Prior to Arraignment
  • Trial Procedure 
  • Trial Resets

Some options may not apply depending on the charge. You will need to ask the judge or prosecutor which options are available.

Deferred Disposition

In order to request deferred disposition, you must appear in court on your court date.  Request for deferred disposition must be made to the prosecutor. After taking a plea of Guilty or No Contest, the court sets the fine and defers the disposition of the case to allow the defendant to complete the terms set by the judge. At the end of the deferral period, the court enters a final disposition.

For more information, call the Municipal Court at 281-298-5522.

Request a Payment Plan

Payment arrangements may be made with the court.

For more information, call the Municipal Court at 281-298-5522.