Criminal Cases

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Justice courts have original jurisdiction in Class C misdemeanor criminal cases punishable by fine only (no confinement). Tarrant County Justice Courts handle citations/tickets issued by the Texas Department of Public Safety, Game Wardens with Texas Parks and Wild Life Department, and the Tarrant County Sheriff's Department.

Responding to a citation/ticket

Your appearance date is noted on the citation/ticket. The law requires you (or your attorney) to make an appearance in your case, but there are different ways to do that. (If you choose to take advantage of one of the options below before your appearance date, your appearance in Court on the date shown on your citation will be waived or extended)

Failure to appear on the appearance date specified on the citation/ticket could result in a warrant being issued for your arrest. Therefore, contact the Court immediately if you cannot appear on the date stated on your citation/ticket. You can reach us by emailing Justice Court, Pct 1, at JP1court@tarrantcountytx.gov or calling 817-884-1395 during regular business hours.  

Appearance Options

  • Request a dismissal
    • Suppose you have received a citation/ticket for a violation that meets the compliance dismissal requirements. In that case, you may be able to have that ticket dismissed by complying with the law in a timely manner and paying any fee designated by law at the time the dismissal is granted. For more information, please visit our compliance dismissal website.
  • Request to meet with the Assistant District Attorney
    • If you choose to plead Not Guilty, you will have an opportunity to speak with the Prosecutor to discuss your case. To submit your plea and request, fill out the plea form via Adobe Fill and Sign. Once complete, your plea will be automatically sent to the Court, and once received, the Court will set your case on the pre-trial docket, and a notice will be sent to the email provided on the plea form. To ensure you receive correspondence via email from the Court, please add the jp1court@tarrantcounty.com email to your contact list.  
  • Court Appearances
    • If you wish to enter a plea of guilty or no contest to the charge(s) and pay the fine(s), please visit our payment information website, or if you have any questions, contact the Court at 817-884-1395, Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Otherwise, you can appear in person at the Justice Court Precinct 1, 100 W. Weatherford St., Room 450, Fort Worth, Texas 76196.
  • Juveniles
    • Justice courts have jurisdiction over juveniles (16 years or younger) charged with most Class C misdemeanor offenses. All juveniles are required to appear in open Court for all proceedings in their cases. Therefore, a Juvenile plea or payment WILL NOT be accepted online or by mail. For more information, please visit our juvenile website.

Please see Tarrant County Class C Prose Guide for more information on the fine and court cost table.

Disclaimer: The information provided on this website does not, and is not intended to, constitute legal advice; instead, all information, content, and materials available on this site are for general informational purposes only.