Houston’s Presiding Municipal Court Judge emphasizes that the Municipal Court is truly the people’s court. She is committed to ensuring the public receives an excellent customer service experience while resolving their court matters. Her staff is dedicated to being welcoming and helpful to everyone navigating the court system.

Director & Presiding Judge Nelly Treviño Santos runs the court most Houstonians will actually encounter — Class C misdemeanors, traffic citations, and city ordinance violations — and on this episode she walks Owen through everything the department offers that most residents don't know exists. Five satellite court locations across the city, including a little-known option to walk into any of them during business hours and ask to see a judge without an appointment. A brand-new postcard-based jury summons system with real-time cell-phone notifications, introduced in 2026. Homeless Court meeting three times a month, Veterans Court resolving warrant-status cases for those who served, and a Teen Court drawing 100 to 150 student volunteers per session — where a first-time citation can be fully dismissed if a student and their family agree to participate in the Youth Diversion Program. There are also Juvenile Case Managers embedded inside HISD, Spring Branch ISD, and Aldine ISD schools at no cost to the districts, civil wedding ceremonies available Monday through Saturday, and passport services — all under one roof downtown.

Judge Santos also shares the story behind her appointment: a native Houstonian and the youngest of nine children raised in Houston's Second Ward/East End by parents from Monterrey, Mexico, who never made it past third grade themselves but always stressed the importance of an education. She spent 20-plus years as Deputy Director and CFO of Municipal Courts before Mayor Whitmire appointed her Director & Presiding Judge in February 2025 — an honor for which she is extremely grateful to Mayor Whitmire and considers it to be the greatest honor of her life.

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