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| | The four levels of trial courts are: | | The four levels of trial courts are: |
| | *Municipal Courts, which handle violations of city ordinances and traffic offenses issued by local police officers (frequently these courts are not "courts of record", thus any appeal essentially becomes a new trial), | | *Municipal Courts, which handle violations of city ordinances and traffic offenses issued by local police officers (frequently these courts are not "courts of record", thus any appeal essentially becomes a new trial), |
| − | *Justice of the Peace courts, which handle "Class C" misdemeanors (these offenses carry no jail time, only fines) along with "small claims" civil matters (the top limit for a claim is $10,000, but these courts have exclusive jurisdiction over [[eviction]] cases), | + | *Justice of the Peace courts, which handle "Class C" misdemeanors (these offenses carry no jail time, only fines) along with "small claims" civil matters (the top limit for a claim is $20,000, but these courts have exclusive jurisdiction over [[eviction]] cases), |
| | *County Courts, which handle "Class A/B" misdemeanors (these offenses carry jail time), medium-sized civil matters, and probate cases; in addition, these courts also hear appeals from municipal and justice of the peace courts and are the final appellate level barring a constitutional issue (the term "County Court at Law" is used to designate County Courts which do not hear appeals), and | | *County Courts, which handle "Class A/B" misdemeanors (these offenses carry jail time), medium-sized civil matters, and probate cases; in addition, these courts also hear appeals from municipal and justice of the peace courts and are the final appellate level barring a constitutional issue (the term "County Court at Law" is used to designate County Courts which do not hear appeals), and |
| | *District Courts, which handle all level of felony cases, divorce cases, civil matters (and can hear cases with an amount in controversy as low as $200), probate cases, and in a catch-all provision all other cases where jurisdiction doesn't lie in another court. | | *District Courts, which handle all level of felony cases, divorce cases, civil matters (and can hear cases with an amount in controversy as low as $200), probate cases, and in a catch-all provision all other cases where jurisdiction doesn't lie in another court. |