Lubbock County Justice of the Peace Courts

Lubbock County JP Court Overview

The Justice of the Peace is the legal post closest to the average citizen. Four JP judges are elected to four-year terms. Each precinct follows the county commissioner lines. The county calls the JP court "The People's Court" on its public page. A JP can hear a civil case worth up to $20,000. A JP can fine a driver for a speeding ticket. A JP can sign a search warrant in the middle of the night. The same judge can also marry a couple the next morning.

The four Lubbock JP courts share one building at 904 Broadway in downtown Lubbock. Each court has its own suite, its own phone line, and its own clerk staff. The judges set their own dockets. Some precincts close for the lunch hour. Others stay open through noon. Hours, room numbers, and email contacts are listed below.

The county's Justice of the Peace department page lists each precinct with its address block.

The county directory at lubbockcounty.gov opens straight into the four-precinct JP page.

That official JP page is the cleanest source for current precinct phones and suite numbers in Lubbock County.

Four JP Courts in Lubbock County

Each of the four Lubbock County Justice of the Peace precinct courts has its own judge, room, and phone line. The county lists all four under one roof at 904 Broadway. Lunch closures vary. Use the table below to find the right precinct before you call or visit.

Phones go to court staff. Judges do not take calls about open cases. For filings, ask the precinct clerk.

What a Lubbock County JP Court Hears

The JP court is a court of limited jurisdiction. The list of cases is set by state law and by the Texas Constitution. JP courts in Lubbock County hear a wide mix of small civil and minor criminal matters. They also act as a magistrate for arrest and search warrants and for emergency protective orders. The list below pulls from the official Lubbock County JP page and the state JP jurisdiction list.

• Civil cases with an amount in controversy up to $20,000, including tort, suits on account, and small claims.
• Landlord-tenant cases, evictions, and writs of possession.
• Class C misdemeanors, including fine-only traffic tickets, penal code offenses, and hot checks.
• Juvenile truancy, alcohol and tobacco offenses, and shoplifting matters.
• County and state ordinance cases, including environmental violations, illegal dumping, illegal towing, and burn bans.
• Search and arrest warrants, magistrate first appearances, oaths, and emergency protective orders.
• Marriages performed by the JP for any couple with a valid Texas license.

JPs also handle foreclosure of mortgages on personal property and the enforcement of liens. Driver's license hearings can also land in a JP court. The mix changes from precinct to precinct based on caseload and the commissioner districts.

Note: JP civil claims must stay at or under $20,000; cases above that limit go to a county court at law or to a district court.

JP Court Contact Cards

For day-to-day contact, the precinct phone and email are the fastest route. Two precincts publish a direct email address on the county page. Two precincts ask the public to call. Use the cards below for the front desk of Precinct 1 and Precinct 3, the two precincts with the most detailed published contacts.

Precinct 2 publishes srowley@co.lubbock.tx.us as its email. Precinct 4 directs callers to 806-775-1540 for any JP business. Hours can shift on holidays, so call ahead.

What JP Court Records Show

A JP case file holds the same kinds of items as a district or county court file, scaled down. A small civil eviction file may have just a petition, a citation, a return of service, a judgment for possession, and a writ. A Class C traffic case file may hold a citation, a plea, a fine ledger, and a final disposition. Each precinct keeps its own docket book, and each record has a case number set by the precinct clerk.

Common fields in a Lubbock County JP record include the case number, the filing date, the precinct number, the party names, the cause or offense, the docket events, the hearing settings, the judgment, the fine or judgment amount, and any post-judgment writ. For more on the kinds of files held countywide, see the Lubbock County court records page and the arrest records page.

A JP record may also list a capias pro fine. That is a writ used to collect a fine after a missed payment. The sheriff or a constable serves it. The warrant records page has more on how JP capias warrants work.

How to Find a Lubbock County JP Case

JP records in Lubbock County are not yet on the county's free Public Access portal. The county states the JP record set will be added in a "future implementation" of the system. Until then, the path to a JP case file runs through the precinct itself. The steps below match the official county notes.

1. Identify the right precinct. Use the table above or the county JP page to match the party's address or the citing officer to a precinct.
2. Call the precinct clerk during posted hours. Have the case number, the citation number, or the party's full name ready.
3. If the precinct asks for a written request, send it by email to the precinct's published address.
4. Pay any fee for copies set by the precinct. JP copy charges vary by precinct and document type.
5. For document images or older files, visit the precinct counter in person at 904 Broadway.
6. Confirm any disposition or fine status by phone before you rely on a paper copy.

The Public Access portal at the District Clerk and County Clerk side does not cover JP records yet. The county also runs public-access record terminals at the courthouse. Those terminals do not surface JP docket data either, at least until the JP rollout is live. Until that day comes, call the precinct.

JP Court vs County Court vs District Court

Texas runs three layers of local trial court in Lubbock County: the JP courts, the County Courts at Law, and the District Courts. Each layer hears a different slice of work. The table below shows where the lines fall for a Lubbock County case.

Appeals from a JP court go to the county courts at law in Lubbock County. The county-level appeal is a fresh trial in most cases, not a paper review. For deeper detail on the upper trial courts, see the Lubbock County District Court page.

How a JP Case Moves Through the System

Most JP cases start with a citation, a small claims petition, or an eviction notice. The flow is short. Most files close inside a few weeks. The arrows below show the basic path for a routine fine-only or small claims case.

Civil flow: Petition filed › Citation issued › Answer › Hearing or default › Judgment › Writ if needed

Class C flow: Citation issued › Plea entered › Trial or admit › Fine set › Pay or capias pro fine

Eviction flow: Notice to vacate › Sworn petition › Citation and service › Hearing › Judgment for possession › Writ of possession

An appeal from a JP judgment moves the case to a county court at law for a new trial. The losing party must post the bond and file the notice within the statutory window.

JP Warrants and Magistrate Duties

JP judges in Lubbock County serve as magistrates. A magistrate signs arrest and search warrants based on a sworn probable cause statement from law enforcement. JPs also conduct the first appearance for a person who has just been booked. At that first appearance, the judge reads the charge, sets bond, and gives the warnings required by state law. The sheriff's Lubbock County Sheriff's Office coordinates with the JP courts on warrants and first appearances.

JPs also issue a capias pro fine. That is the writ used to compel payment of a fine after a missed deadline in a fine-only case. The Lubbock Sheriff's Warrants Division executes the higher-risk capias and warrant cases. The Lubbock County warrant records page covers how to check or clear a JP-issued warrant.

Note: A JP capias pro fine can lead to arrest even on a low-level traffic ticket, so a missed JP date should not be ignored.

JP Juvenile Records in Lubbock County

JP courts in Lubbock County hear a narrow set of juvenile matters. Truancy and certain school-attendance cases run through the JP courts under state law. Alcohol and tobacco violations by minors land in JP court. Some shoplifting cases under the Class C threshold also fall here. Even at JP level, juvenile case files are not freely public. Texas Family Code Chapter 58 puts juvenile justice records under restricted access rules.

The Texas Legislature publishes the full statute that controls juvenile record release.

The official PDF of Texas Family Code Chapter 58 sets out the rules used by every JP court in the state.

That statute is the source most JP clerks point to when a parent asks to view or copy a juvenile case.

Most juvenile JP files cannot be released to the general public. A parent or guardian can ask the precinct clerk for case-specific records. Lawyers and youth-service workers may also gain limited access under the chapter.

When a Case Leaves the JP Court

JP courts cap out at Class C fine-only crimes. The moment a charge crosses into a Class B, Class A, or felony, the case moves up. Class A and B misdemeanors go to a county court at law. Felonies route to a district court through the District Clerk. Federal charges leave the state system altogether and route to the Northern District of Texas. See the Lubbock County District Court page for how felony cases move.

The U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Texas runs the federal side from offices that include Lubbock.

The federal page at U.S. Attorney NDTX sets out which cases prosecutors take and which they decline.

That federal office is the routing point for the felony and federal cases that a Lubbock JP court cannot keep.

For most people, the JP court is still the right place to start. A speeding ticket, a small debt claim, or a JP-level eviction stays in the precinct. The line up the ladder only matters when the charge or claim grows.

JP Marriages and Oaths

Texas law lets a JP perform a marriage. Couples who hold a valid Texas marriage license issued by the County Clerk can stand before any of the four Lubbock JP judges. Some precincts charge a fee for the ceremony, set by the judge and posted at the precinct. JPs also administer oaths for affidavits, depositions, and notary swearing. For the license side, see the Lubbock County marriage and divorce records page.

Related Lubbock County JP Resources

For dockets, case lookup, and the broader Texas court record system, the related pages list out the next step for each kind of file. JP appeals route into the county courts at law and then up to the district courts. Statewide framework, statutes, and clerk contact sit on the matching subpages.

• Lubbock County court records for general case search.
• Lubbock County District Court for felony and family routing.
• Traffic court records for fine-only ticket cases.
• Warrant records for capias and bench warrants.
• Arrest records for booking and post-arrest first appearances.