Texas District Courts
From Judgepedia
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Texas District Courts are the trial courts of general jurisdiction of Texas. "The geographical area served by each court is established by the Legislature, but each county must be served by at least one district court. In sparsely populated areas of the State, several counties may be served by a single district court, while an urban county may be served by many district courts." [1] The District Courts often have concurrent jurisdiction with the Texas County Courts.
As of March 1, 2009, there were 436 District Courts with all but one seat filled, and 13 Criminal District Courts with all seats filled, for a total of 449 District Courts. District Courts have one judge per court. [2]
Jurisdiction
"District courts have original jurisdiction in all felony criminal cases, divorce cases, cases involving title to land, election contest cases, civil matters in which the amount in controversy (the amount of money or damages involved) is $200 or more, and any matters in which jurisdiction is not placed in another trial court. While most district courts try both criminal and civil cases, in the more densely populated counties the courts may specialize in civil, criminal, juvenile, or family law matters." [1]
District courts by county
- See also: List of Texas District Courts
- and List of Texas counties
There are 352 Districts containing one county and 97 Districts containing more than one county. [3]
District judges
Terms and qualifications
District judges in Texas are selected via the partisan election method and serve four-year terms. The qualifications to serve as a district judge are:
- Be a citizen of U.S. and of Texas
- Aged 25 to 74
- Resident of the district for at least 2 years
- A practicing lawyer or judge, or both combined, for at least 4 years [4]
Judicial salaries
Effective December 1, 2005, the Texas Legislature amended statutes relating to the compensation of state judges. District judges receive a base salary of $125,000 annually, with potential additional compensation that may raise salaries up to $173,000 annually. [5]
External links
- Texas Courts Online homepage
- Court Structure of Texas pamphlet
- Trial Courts and Jurisdiction by County
References
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The Texas Project on Judgepedia
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