EXCHANGE OF BENCHES

(a) The judges of the criminal law magistrate court may exchange benches and may sit and act for each other in any proceeding pending in the criminal law magistrate court. (b) Except as provided by Subsection (c), the judges of the criminal law magistrate court may exchange benches and may sit and act for each other in any proceeding assigned to them under this subchapter if a felony or misdemeanor indictment has been filed or a felony or misdemeanor information has been filed. (c) Any court that assigns an indicted case or a case in which an information has been filed under this subchapter to the criminal law magistrate court may provide in the assignment order or the local administrative rules may provide that only the judge who is named in the assignment order may act on the case and that another judge of the criminal law magistrate court may not exchange benches with or sit for the judge named in the assignment order or local administrative rules. (d) When conducting a capias pro fine hearing for any court, the criminal law magistrate court acts in the same capacity and with the same authority as the judge who issued the capias pro fine.