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Texas District Courts

January 01, 1970

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]

On June 9, 2023, Texas' governor signed an Act into law creating a trial level Business Court, as well as the first appellate level business court in the United States. The new law became effective in September 2023, but the Business Court will not be open for cases until September 2024 at the earliest.[6][7] As of May 1, 2024, the Texas Supreme Court had approved a preliminary set of rules for the new Business Court, as well as new appellate rules, subject to reviewing public comments due as of that date.[8]

Counties containing the most district courts edit

The following data is accurate as of February 2022.[9]

References edit

  1. ^ "Court Structure of Texas" (PDF). Texas Judicial Branch. 1 January 2019. Retrieved 29 March 2019.
  2. ^ "TJB | About Texas Courts | Trial Courts". www.txcourts.gov. Retrieved 2019-03-28.
  3. ^ a b Clarence A. Guittard, Court Reform, Texas Style, 21 Sw. L. J. 451, 455-480 (1967). Available through HeinOnline.
  4. ^ Tex. S.J. Res. 14, 69th Leg., R.S., § 3 (1985) (amending Tex. Const. art. V, § 7).
  5. ^ a b "The Texas Judicial System" (PDF). Texas Judicial Branch. September 2014. Retrieved 29 March 2019.
  6. ^ "Texas White Paper on New Business Court – Business Courts Blog". 2023-06-26. Retrieved 2024-05-05.
  7. ^ "Texas HB19 | 2023-2024 | 88th Legislature". LegiScan. Retrieved 2024-05-05.
  8. ^ "[Texas] Supreme Court approves preliminary rules for new Texas Business Court and 15th Court of Appeals". www.txcourts.gov. Retrieved 2024-05-05.
  9. ^ "Texas State District Courts Map" (PDF). Texas Judicial Branch. January 2022. Retrieved 2 January 2020.

External links edit

  • Texas District Court information
  • Map of District Court Jurisdictions

January 01, 1970
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, message, . 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 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 On June 9 2023 Texas governor signed an Act into law creating a trial level Business Court as well as the first appellate level business court in the United States The new law became effective in September 2023 but the Business Court will not be open for cases until September 2024 at the earliest 6 7 As of May 1 2024 the Texas Supreme Court had approved a preliminary set of rules for the new Business Court as well as new appellate rules subject to reviewing public comments due as of that date 8 Counties containing the most district courts editThe following data is accurate as of February 2022 9 County Largest city District courts Harris County Houston 61 Dallas County Dallas 32 Bexar County San Antonio 27 Tarrant County Fort Worth 24 Travis County Austin 21 El Paso County El Paso 16 Collin County Plano 13 Hidalgo County McAllen 12 Denton County Denton 11 Cameron County Brownsville 9 Fort Bend County Sugar Land 8 Montgomery 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 White Paper on New Business Court Business Courts Blog 2023 06 26 Retrieved 2024 05 05 Texas HB19 2023 2024 88th Legislature LegiScan Retrieved 2024 05 05 Texas Supreme Court approves preliminary rules for new Texas Business Court and 15th Court of Appeals www txcourts gov Retrieved 2024 05 05 Texas State District Courts Map PDF Texas Judicial Branch January 2022 Retrieved 2 January 2020 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 1222412268, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,

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