by
Ned Minevitz and Leandra Quick
Since 2023, Section 62.115(d) of the Government Code has required clerks to report misdemeanor theft convictions to the Secretary of State (SOS) for the purposes of juror disqualification. As noted on Page 7-20 of TMCEC’s Level 1 Study Guide, however, due to security reasons regarding the use of a statewide database, municipal court clerks must report such convictions to the county where the court is located—not directly to the Secretary of State. The county then reports to the SOS. This directive is not in the Government Code, but it has been confirmed by the SOS.
But this begs an important question: where or to whom in the county should municipal courts send this report? The Government Code does not tell us. And to complicate matters further, municipal court clerks from various counties all report doing it differently. One municipal court sends the list to the County Clerk while another court stated that the County Clerk will not accept it so they send it to the Voter Registrar. Yet another court reports that their practice is to send it to the District Clerk.
Bottom line? Communicate, communicate, communicate. If you do not have an established practice in place, set up a meeting with county officials to determine where they want the report sent. Document your communications, as well as reports sent, to avoid any notion that your municipal court is not complying with Section 62.115(d).
Full Court Press 