11-G Municipal Judge Appt. - Laserfiche WebLink

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AGENDA INFORMATION SHEET PROJECT: Appoint a municipal court judge to the bench of the Municipal Court of the City of Paris. BACKGROUND: The current term of the Honorable Thomas E. Hunt, III, Municipal Court Judge, expires on September 30, 2003. In order to maintain continuity in appointment, the City Council needs to designate and appoint a new municipal court judge by formal resolution. By way of information, the municipal court judge is a Charter position found in Section 27 of the City Charter (copy appended to this Agenda Information Sheet). The individual designated should be a person of high moral character, but does not have to be an attorney. However, if an attorney is not selected to serve as judge, there is a significantly enhanced training requirement for that individual during the first year of service as a judge. For municipal court judges who are attorneys, those individuals must continue to be in good standing with the State Bar and must successfully complete a twelve (12) hour course annually in municipal court law. For non-attorneys, however, the requirement upon initial appointment is for successful completion of a thirty- two (32) hour course within one (1) year of the date of appointment. Of course, the City would have to bear the cost of such training. DESCRIPTION: Consider appointment of a new municipal court judge to serve a two (2) year term beginning October 1, 2003. STAFF CONTACT: Larry W. Schenk, City Attorney SCHEDULE: The term of the current municipal court judge expires on September 30, 2003. Other information related to the term of the municipal court judge may be found in Section 27 of the City Charter (enclosed) and in Section 29.005 of the Government Code (also enclosed). COUNCIL DATE: Consider for review and possible action at City Council's Monday, September 8, 2003, Council meeting. ADDITIONAL MATERIALS: See a resolution designating a municipal court judge for a term beginning October 1, 2003, and ending September 30, 2005; Section 27 of the City Charter; Section 30.04 and 30.05 of the Municipal Law and Procedure Manual regarding municipal court judges; and Section 29.005 of the Government Code dealing with the term of office of municipal court judges.