Appeals

The City of Sugar Land Municipal Court is a court of record. An appeal of a decision by a Sugar Land Municipal Court judge or jury on a criminal case must be based on an error made by the Court and preserved in the record of your case. There are certain procedures you must follow to protect and perfect your right of appeal. The statutes governing this Court's criminal appeals may be found in the Texas Government Code Sec. 30.0014-30.0027 and the Texas Rules of Appellate Procedure.

THE FOLLOWING INFORMATION IS PROVIDED TO YOU AS A GUIDE AND DOES NOT INCLUDE ALL THE APPELLATE RULES. You must follow the law, or hire an attorney, to make certain that you do not lose your ability to appeal.

Court of Record Seal

1. Motion for New Trial

To begin the appeals process, the defendant or their attorney must first file a Motion for New Trial. The Judge will review the motion and issue a ruling. If the Motion for New Trial is denied and the defendant wishes to appeal, the defendant must file a written Notice of Appeal with the Municipal Court within 10 days after the motion for new trial is overruled.

For your convenience, the Court provides a combined Motion for New Trial and Notice of Appeal form. This form should be used to submit the required filings to the Court.

2. Appeal Bond

The appeal bond must be paid at the time the combined Motion for New Trial and Notice of Appeal form is submitted to the court for the judge’s approval. 

The appeal bond is set at the time of judgment and will be for $100 or twice the total amount of the fines, costs, and fees, whichever is greater (however, the Judge may determine whether the surety is sufficient).

3. The Record

Once the Motion for New Trial is approved, the defendant must request a transcript of the record. Below outlines the steps for requesting the record transcript.

  1. Pay a $75 deposit. (This will be applied towards the total balance of the invoice).
  2. The clerk will request an estimate of the cost to transcribe the record.
  3. The estimate is provided to the defendant prior to transcription for approval.
  4. Once approved by the defendant, the clerk will instruct the transcriber to begin transcription.
  5. When transcription is complete, a final invoice will be provided to the defendant for payment. The transcript will not be released until the invoice is paid in full. Please note: The preparation of the record may take several weeks.
  6. The Presiding Judge will review and approve the record and will file the record and case file with the appellate court.

4. The Appellate Court

Once the appellate court receives the record and case file, they will review it and decide whether or not an error in the application of law was made.  

Please note: allow 15 days for the appellate court to respond with the findings of the appeal.