Texas District Courts

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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 list

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. Click the letters below to see the Texas District Courts list by county. Click the Sortable List tab at the end to see the District Courts listed by district number. The list can also be sorted by clicking any of the table's headings to view the courts by county, city, etc. [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

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 Texas Courts Online, District Courts
  2. ↑ Profile of Appellate and Trial Judges
  3. ↑ Court Structure of Texas
  4. ↑ Judicial Qualifications, Selection and Terms of Office
  5. ↑ Salaries of Elected State Judges
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