SB 1210 Texas Senate · 89th Legislature (2025)

Relating to the jurisdiction of the Texas Supreme Court and the Court of Criminal Appeals.

SB 1210 would clarify criminal court jurisdiction by specifying that the Texas Supreme Court handles certain criminal conflicts under Government Code Section 22.001(a-1), while the Court of Criminal Appeals retains final appellate authority for most criminal cases. It updates the Code of Criminal Procedure to detail which courts (including district courts, courts of appeals, and specific magistrates in counties like Bexar, Travis, and Tarrant) have criminal jurisdiction. The bill affects how criminal appeals are processed through Texas' court system but does not change criminal laws or penalties. This is a procedural adjustment to court structure, not a substantive policy change.

Bill status passed 3 of 5 stages cleared

Introduction

Feb 2025

Committee Review

May 2025

Senate Passage

Apr 2025

House Passage

Governor

Introduced Feb 10, 2025 Last action May 21, 2025

Maddy AI version diff · 1 comparison

What changed between versions

Introduced → Engrossed · 4 edits · Apr 10, 2025

MODERATE

This bill reorganizes the jurisdiction of Texas criminal courts and clarifies the relationship between the Texas Supreme Court and the Court of Criminal Appeals. It adds a new provision allowing the Supreme Court to resolve conflicts with the Court of Criminal Appeals regarding Texas Constitution interpretations, and updates the list of courts with criminal jurisdiction.

Scope change

The bill expands the scope of the Texas Supreme Court's appellate jurisdiction by adding a specific mechanism for resolving conflicts with the Court of Criminal Appeals, while maintaining the existing jurisdiction of various lower courts.

SCOPE

Added new jurisdictional provision allowing the Texas Supreme Court to finally resolve conflicts with the Court of Criminal Appeals regarding Texas Constitution interpretations through writ of certiorari or federal court certification.

REQUIREMENT

Reorganized and renumbered the list of courts with criminal jurisdiction in Article 4.01 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, updating references to specific county magistrates and courts.

DEFINITION

Clarified the constitutional interpretation of Supreme Court jurisdiction as 'as otherwise provided by law' and Court of Criminal Appeals jurisdiction as 'with such exceptions and under such regulations as prescribed by law'.

TECHNICAL

Added header information about digital content accessibility standards (WCAG 2.1) and updated bill formatting from introduced to engrossed version.

Floor votes · Senate Apr 10, 2025

How they voted

21–8

Passed · 1 other

Total votes 30

Apr 10, 2025

D Democratic10

4 Yea 6 Nay

60% Nay

R Republican20

17 Yea 2 Nay 1

85% Yea

Vote distribution

All Yea All Nay Mixed No data

Full legislative history

Actions timeline

Total actions

Key actions

Committee

May 21, 2025

Lower · Passed

Left pending in committee

lower

Apr 17, 2025

Committee

Referred to Judiciary & Civil Jurisprudence

lower

Apr 17, 2025

Introduced

Read first time

lower

Apr 14, 2025

Introduced

Received from the Senate

lower

Apr 10, 2025

Upper · Passed

Passed

upper

Mar 26, 2025

Upper · Passed

Committee report printed and distributed

upper

Mar 26, 2025

Upper · Passed

Reported favorably w/o amendments

upper

Mar 24, 2025

Upper · Passed

Vote taken in committee

upper

Mar 20, 2025

Upper · Passed

Left pending in committee

upper

Mar 20, 2025

Upper · Passed

Testimony taken in committee

upper

Feb 28, 2025

Committee

Referred to State Affairs

upper

Feb 28, 2025

Introduced

Read first time

upper

1 primary · 0 co-sponsors