Pct. 2 JP Jimmy Belt shares his path from law enforcement to the bench

For most parts of the U.S., a local justice of the peace is the most accessible part of the local court system. In a new episode of Bluebonnet News Headlines and Heartlines, Liberty County Pct. 2 Justice of the Peace Jimmy Belt talks about why that accessibility matters, what his court actually handles, how his role goes far beyond traffic tickets and weddings, and why he is seeking reelection in March 2026.

Belt, a lifelong resident of Liberty County, said his work is rooted in the same communities he has called home.

“I was raised in the Devers-Hull-Daisetta area. I have been in this area my entire life,” Belt said. “I truly live with these people.”

During the interview, Belt walked listeners through his career in public service that began unusually early. After graduating from Liberty High School in 1978, he attended and graduated from a police academy. Not long after, he was appointed as the police chief in Daisetta, Texas. At that time, he was the youngest police chief in the state.

That early start led to more than four decades in law enforcement, including years with the Liberty County Sheriff’s Office and later investigative work tied to the agricultural industry as a special ranger for the Texas Cattle Raisers Association.

“We were actually licensed and commissioned by the Department of Public Safety at that time as Special Texas Rangers,” Belt said. “That gave us a statewide jurisdiction.”

He said the work routinely stretched across county lines and required him to handle criminal cases that could begin locally and end up hundreds of miles away.

Now serving as Justice of the Peace for Pct. 2, Belt said one of the most common misconceptions is that the job is limited to tickets and weddings.

“I’ve had a few people tell me… ‘I thought all they’ve done was looked over traffic tickets and maybe marry a few people,’” he said.

In reality, Belt explained, JP courts deal with a wide range of duties, from Class C criminal cases and issuing warrants to civil matters such as evictions and small claims.

He also highlighted roles many residents don’t realize fall under the JP umbrella, including occupational driver’s license hearings.

“We have a hearing and… if there is enough there, then we will issue that occupational driver’s license,” Belt said.

He described it as a way for a person with a suspended license to keep a job and meet basic family needs, though he noted it comes with restrictions.

Belt spoke at length about magistrations — the process of informing jailed individuals of their rights and setting bond — and emphasized the importance of making sure people understand what is happening in their case.

“We go and we read those individuals their rights,” he said. “We want to make sure that people understand what their rights are.”

He also addressed what he called the hardest part of the job: death inquests.

“It’s probably the worst part of this job,” Belt said. “You never get used to it.”

In a rural precinct where families know one another, he said those calls carry an added weight.

“When you know everybody, it makes it that much harder,” he said, describing the responsibility of meeting families in some of their worst moments.

Belt said his approach to the Pct. 2 courtroom is shaped by accessibility and day-to-day connection with residents. He described beginning each morning at the office, then spending much of his day out in the community — in Devers, Daisetta, Hull, and Raywood — talking with people in relaxed settings.

“In a community as rural as we are… you find out more things by going and visiting with people in a relaxed atmosphere,” he said. “I know what’s going on in the community, because I sit down and visit with people.”

The episode also touches on what Belt said he is most proud of since taking office in January 2023 — establishing a permanent Justice of the Peace office in Daisetta at 401 Main Street after the precinct previously had no dedicated county-owned space. The previous court was located on the property of the former justice of the peace.

“We didn’t have a place to go to,” he said.

Belt said he worked with county leadership to secure property and a functional building that includes courtroom space, and he added that providing an extra office for law enforcement has helped increase local presence.

“It has made a difference in the presence of law enforcement,” he said, calling that visibility “a deterrent to crime.”

Belt closed the conversation by returning to the theme he repeated throughout the interview: public service. “The job is about serving the people that you live with,” he said. “It’s being fair and giving equal representation to every person… It’s about being fair to every person that comes before this court and giving them an equal chance to explain.”

The full interview with Belt is available now on Headlines and Heartlines. Listeners will hear Belt’s complete interview on Spotify by clicking HERE, on YouTube by clicking HERE. or on KILE FM Radio on Tuesday, Dec. 16, and Friday, Dec. 19, at 10 a.m. daily.