Untitled Texas Attorney General Opinion ( 1985 )

_ ‘_ q . ‘L ;..c : CA *’ , Jhe Attorney General of Texas c 0':lrober 1. 1985'.' JIM MATTOX Attorney General . .~. . - Supreme Court Building HonorableTim Curry '~:~. .% s opinionwo.m-358 P. 0. Box 12546 hlh. TX. 76711. 2546 CriminalDistrictAttorney ..Li’ ;.:I’ ~, i? - ..:~.. .~ .~. 1 512l475.2501 200 West BelknapSmeet 1 ;.:':I: .Re:-.Whether a separate docket ‘Telex 910/67*.1287 Port Worth, Texas .76196 -' .-.'~- sheet la requiredfor the criminal t eiecopier 5121475am _. :, .'I 3:.. docketkept by districtclerks :r:.% I 714 Jackson. Suite 700 Dear Hr. C&y: -i .~: j-....', 7 :: :. Dallas. TX. 75202-4506 2141742-8944 You inquire- whether a d2stric; clerk's duty'to keep a criminal docket requires (I,clerk to maintain a separate docket sheet in 4624 Alberta Ave.. Suits 160 criminal cases if xhe informationis also kept 011the file jacket. El Paso, TX. 769052793 You advise us that, during the pendeucy of criminal cases, your 91515333404 districtclerk recmxcdson the preprintedfile jacket of each case all pertinent informstim regarding,the style and file number, names of counsel, nature of the case, and subsequent actions and, on the lW1 Texas. Suite 700 dispositionof tLz case, the InformatIonfrom the preprinted file Houston. TX. 77002.3111 7131222-5855 jacket is typed on s separatedocket sheet which is placed inside the jacket. In addition. all entries on the file jacket are being microfilmedto inswe their preservation. 806 Broadway, Suite 312 Lubbock. TX. 7S4OM479 You inquire about the docket describedby article 33.07 of the 8061747.5236 Code of CriminalPmcedure. It provides: 4303 N. ienlh. Suite S Each clerk of a court of recordhaving criminal McAllen. TX. 76501-1665 juriadic!:!ion shall keep a docket in which shall be 51216624547 - set don1 the style and file number of each criminal action, the nature of the offense, the 200 Main Plaza. Suite 400 names of counsel,the proceedingshad therein,and San Antonio, TX. 762052797 the date of each proceeding. 51212254191 See also . Code _ .Grim, ..I Proc. art. 33.08 (courtscontroltheir dockets for setting or crm1na.L cases). An Equal OpportunityI Ailirmalire Aclion Employer .. The word "dockmet"has mme.rous mea&s. It may be an index of all cases filed in numerical and ~alphabeticalorder, a list or calendarof pendingjudicial,aatters that are set for specificaction. end a record or history of all proceedingsand actions taken in a particularmatter or ease. -See Ballentine'sLav Dictionary366 (3rd ed. 1?69). p!.1636 BonorablcTim Curry - Page 2 (JM-358) For civil cases, the Texas Bules of Civil Procedure require the district clerks to keep a file docket "in convenient form,” showing the number of the suit. ormar of attorneys and parties to the suit, the nature of the suit. thltofficer'rreturn 00 the process. aud all subsequantproceedingsin tlhc care. Rule 25. The clerks must also keep "a court docket in a well bound book" that includes the pleas-. motions,and rulings of the courtin each action. Rule 26. ' The Code of CriminalI'xocedure specifiesonly the informationto be kept for the docket that is mandatedby article33.07, which is, in our opinion, a docket indwiug all csaea. not a file docket. con- sequently,it has no bearing ou the manner in vhich the file docket is to be kept. We concludetlat a clerk who msintaiusa criminaldocket on a case file jacket in a s,afe and efficientmanner complieswith the statutoryrequirementand tbat your clerk may use the preprintedfile jacket aa tbe record of the :necessary information. A district clerk msy use the case file jacket to maintain a file. docket without maintainingthe sane informationon a sepsrata sheet inside the jacket. . ‘JIbt MATTOX Attorney General of Texas TON CREBN First AssistantAttorneyGeneera DAVID R. RICHARDS ExecutiveAssistantAttorneg General ROBERTGRAY Syeci~lAssistant Attorney Iteneral RICE GILPIN Chairman,Opinion Committee . Preparedby Nancy Sutton ani Sarah Woelk AssistantAttorneysGeneral , p. 1637 HonorableTim Curry - Page 3 ml-358) APPROVED: OPINION COHHITTEE Rick Gilpin.Chairman Susan Garrison Jim Moellinger JenniferRiggs Nancy Sutton Sarah Woelk Bruce Youngblood p. 1638