§ 21.021.Application

An applicability section written by description rather than by name, which is how Texas legislates for particular counties without naming them.

The subchapter applies to a county that: is part of two or more judicial districts, has two or more district courts with regular terms, and is part of a district in which a county borders the international boundary with Mexico; borders that international boundary and is in a judicial district composed of four counties; borders that boundary and has three or more district courts or judicial districts wholly within the county; or borders on the Gulf of Mexico and has four or more district courts or judicial districts of which two or more are wholly within the county.

Each description combines a geographic condition with a judicial-structure condition, which produces a small and identifiable set of counties without a list that would need amending whenever a district changed.

The fourth category is the one that reaches beyond the border itself, covering a Gulf Coast county with a substantial court structure.

What the subchapter provides for these counties is a staff interpreter appointed by the commissioners court, rather than a per-case appointment. In courts where a large share of proceedings require Spanish interpretation, engaging an interpreter case by case is neither practical nor economical.