The Ellis County Press: Jurisdiction questioned in nuisance cases

Jurisdiction questioned in nuisance cases
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Editor on 04/24/2008 11:44:00


JOEY DAUBEN
The Ellis County Press
WAXAHACHIE - The county's four justice of the peace precincts hear cases
involving constituents in those precincts, but when it comes to the county's
growing building development regulations, that's not always the case.
Rick Parkinson, owner of a septic system maintenance company, recently called
into question why Curtis Polk's Precinct 3 JP courtroom handles nuisance cases.
County attorneys said this was done for "convenience" purposes since Polk - the
only Democratic JP - has his courtroom in the courthouse.
A change reportedly occurred in which nuisance violators were sent to their own
precincts.
A criminal prosecution, according to an analysis of state law, has to be in the
precinct in which the offense was committed.
In the mid-90s, state lawmakers changed the status of a traffic citation from a
civil matter to a criminal one, but the question of jurisdiction on nuisance
ordinances - which can be both - is an issue various local legal experts have
commented on but have not reached a consensus on.
Parkinson, meanwhile, said he's complained to the county repeatedly and said as
a result, he's being harassed.
He points to several unlicensed inspectors with the county's department of
development as the root cause; currently, county officials are investigating
Parkinson's claims.