How to Become a Municipal Judge: Duties and Functions of a Municipal Judge

Duties of a municipal judge

One of the many functions of a municipal judge is to look through municipal records and conduct all types of hearings held in a municipal court. If there is any individual, convicted of felony or is charged with violation of city ordinance, the municipal judge has to determine his/her level of guilt or innocence.

Some other duties an attorney district has to perform are establishing bail, providing for probation, imposing imprisonment, assessing fines and complying with all kinds of statutory needs.

He or she also has to perform all those duties that are required for conducting court. However, while passing judgment or executing a sentence or fine, the attorney district or municipal judge has to abide by law. He or she can’t rise above the authorized law and has to follow the law to the letter.

More functions of a municipal judge

A municipal judge has been empowered to select and designate a civil attorney or attorney district or a panel of such attorney lawyers whose job entails providing legal counsel and defense to indigent defendants. Those convicted of crime or felonies are lawfully entitled to obtain legal counsel suitable and appropriate for their case.

Another duty of the municipal judge entails appointing an attorney district or civil attorney from the defense panel of the indigent who will represent and defend the convicted. But for that the municipal judge has to do the following things.

The municipal judge first has to determine whether the defendant happens to be an indigent individual or not and whether the defendant is legally entitled to receive appointed legal counsel or not of appropriate standards.

The municipal judge may even have to order the payment of compensation to all the attorney lawyers involved with this case and this will be according to a schedule which the city manager will approve. But first of all, the convicted has to properly apply for payment in front of the city clerk.

The municipal judge will assess the amount as the price or cost of action and this sum will be collected from the defendant by the supervisor of court. If there are more such costs which have been taxed in a proper legal manner to such a defendant, then the supervisor of court is entitled to collect those as well.