The Texas District Courts form part of the Texas judicial system and are the trial courts of general jurisdiction of Texas. As of January 2019, 472 district courts serve the state, each with a single judge, elected by partisan election to a four-year term.[1]
District courts have original jurisdiction in all felony criminal cases, divorce cases, land title disputes, election contests, civil matters in which at least $200 is disputed or claimed in damages, as well as other matters. Most district courts consider both criminal and civil cases but, in counties with many courts, each may specialize in civil, criminal, juvenile, or family law matters.[2]
The Texas tradition of one judge per district court is descended from what was the dominant form of American state trial court organization for much of the 19th century, which Texas wrote into its state constitution.[3] Although the relevant constitutional clause was amended in 1985 to no longer require one judge per court,[4] the tradition had become thoroughly entrenched.
Districts can cover a single county or several counties, with many districts overlapping one another. Harris County, the state's most populous, is home to 60 district courts - each one covering the entire county. While district courts can exercise concurrent jurisdiction over an entire county, and they can and do share courthouses and clerks to save money (as allowed under an 1890 Texas Supreme Court case), each is still legally constituted as a separate court.[3] This is dramatically different from the situation in most U.S. states (or most other jurisdictions), in which a single trial court is staffed by multiple judges, each of whom has authority to act in the name of that court.[5]
In sparsely populated areas, a single district can cover numerous counties: several districts span five counties, for example. Some counties share numerous overlapping districts, such as the 12 districts that serve the same 13 county region of central and eastern Texas, with each district covering the entirety of the 13 counties.[5]
Counties containing the most districts
The following data is accurate as of February 2022.[6]
^ ab"The Texas Judicial System" (PDF). Texas Judicial Branch. September 2014. Retrieved 29 March 2019.
^"Texas State District Courts Map" (PDF). Texas Judicial Branch. January 2022. Retrieved 2 January 2020.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
External links
Texas District Court information
Map of District Court Jurisdictions
March 14, 2023
texas, district, courts, this, article, includes, list, general, references, lacks, sufficient, corresponding, inline, citations, please, help, improve, this, article, introducing, more, precise, citations, september, 2018, learn, when, remove, this, template,. This article includes a list of general references but it lacks sufficient corresponding inline citations Please help to improve this article by introducing more precise citations September 2018 Learn how and when to remove this template message The Texas District Courts form part of the Texas judicial system and are the trial courts of general jurisdiction of Texas As of January 2019 472 district courts serve the state each with a single judge elected by partisan election to a four year term 1 District courts have original jurisdiction in all felony criminal cases divorce cases land title disputes election contests civil matters in which at least 200 is disputed or claimed in damages as well as other matters Most district courts consider both criminal and civil cases but in counties with many courts each may specialize in civil criminal juvenile or family law matters 2 The Texas tradition of one judge per district court is descended from what was the dominant form of American state trial court organization for much of the 19th century which Texas wrote into its state constitution 3 Although the relevant constitutional clause was amended in 1985 to no longer require one judge per court 4 the tradition had become thoroughly entrenched Districts can cover a single county or several counties with many districts overlapping one another Harris County the state s most populous is home to 60 district courts each one covering the entire county While district courts can exercise concurrent jurisdiction over an entire county and they can and do share courthouses and clerks to save money as allowed under an 1890 Texas Supreme Court case each is still legally constituted as a separate court 3 This is dramatically different from the situation in most U S states or most other jurisdictions in which a single trial court is staffed by multiple judges each of whom has authority to act in the name of that court 5 In sparsely populated areas a single district can cover numerous counties several districts span five counties for example Some counties share numerous overlapping districts such as the 12 districts that serve the same 13 county region of central and eastern Texas with each district covering the entirety of the 13 counties 5 Counties containing the most districts EditThe following data is accurate as of February 2022 6 County Largest city District courtsHarris County Houston 61Dallas County Dallas 32Bexar County San Antonio 27Tarrant County Fort Worth 24Travis County Austin 21El Paso County El Paso 16Collin County Plano 13Hidalgo County McAllen 12Denton County Denton 11Fort Bend County Sugar Land 8Montgomery County Conroe 8References Edit Court Structure of Texas PDF Texas Judicial Branch 1 January 2019 Retrieved 29 March 2019 TJB About Texas Courts Trial Courts www txcourts gov Retrieved 2019 03 28 a b Clarence A Guittard Court Reform Texas Style 21 Sw L J 451 455 480 1967 Available through HeinOnline Tex S J Res 14 69th Leg R S 3 1985 amending Tex Const art V 7 a b The Texas Judicial System PDF Texas Judicial Branch September 2014 Retrieved 29 March 2019 Texas State District Courts Map PDF Texas Judicial Branch January 2022 Retrieved 2 January 2020 a href Template Cite web html title Template Cite web cite web a CS1 maint url status link External links EditTexas District Court information Map of District Court Jurisdictions Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Texas District Courts amp oldid 1133512044, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
