Municipal court clerks have a mandatory ministerial duty to send a case to the county court regardless of whether the appeal bond was timely filed.

• A. True
• B. False
• C. No duty
• D. Depends on judge

Answer: (D)

The key idea is that clerks perform ministerial duties within the bounds set by the court’s rules and orders, especially when handling appeals from municipal court to county court. In theory, forwarding a case for appeal is a routine, non-discretionary step, but it only becomes appropriate to transmit when the appeal is properly perfected, including the timely filing of the appeal bond.

Whether transmission happens if the appeal bond wasn’t timely filed isn’t automatic. A judge may have discretion to accept a late bond, grant an extension, or otherwise order that the appeal proceed despite timely-borrowed steps. Because that judicial determination can change whether the case can be sent to the county court, the clerk’s action isn’t fixed and independent of the judge’s ruling. Therefore, the appropriate answer is that it depends on the judge.