A longtime local institution may provide more utility to the city than meets the eye.

Almost every week of the year, the Sachse Municipal Court comes to order beginning at 5:30 p.m. Tuesday evenings.

Court Administrator Kelly Dennis said there is not an exact date that the Sachse Municipal Court first came to order but it was included in Sachse’s Home Rule Charter that dates back to 1986. The court’s current presiding officer is Judge Robert Beasley who has held the role for over 32 years, she added.

In a typical Tuesday night session, the court may hear a total of 60 cases, which adds up to around 2,700 cases over the course of a year, Dennis said.

“Sometimes we will find that defendant’s feel that municipal courts lack importance,” Dennis said. “Statistics show that municipal courts process more defendants and other participants than all other courts.”

While the court does not handle any cases that could involve a jail sentence, said Dennis, it does handle all Class C misdemeanors. Most of the cases are traffic violations although it also hears cases such as theft under $100.

Dennis said the court will also hear civil cases, which typically involve a violation of Sachse’s Code of Ordinances.

Additionally, the municipal court is a way to maintain a resident’s constitutional rights when it comes to having a trial, said Dennis, adding that it upholds the axiom, “all persons are presumed innocent until proven guilty.”

For the full story, see the Nov. 3 issue of The Sachse News.