What are Texas Court Records?

Docket Sheet

This document names the attorney, plaintiff, defendant, and judge in a case. It also lists the many documents referenced in the trial and a summary of each.

Judgment and Orders

This document contains the court decision on the matter and clarifies relevant issues concerning the case, such as who won, applicable punishments, and orders.

Transcripts

This includes any detailed recording of what was said and who said it during a proceeding. These records are created by an electronic recording device or a real-time transcriber.

Evidence

Any evidence submitted to a case is filed for court records. This applies to physical and electronic evidence from either side.

Court Minutes

This document summarised a timeline of court events, including the beginning and the end of the trial, special actions, and minute orders.

Pleadings

Pleadings are formal documents lawyers draft for the trial. They state each party's complaints, defense, admissions, or other stance related to the case.

Civil Cases

Generally, civil cases are cases that involve disputes between two or more parties (usually persons or businesses) and which are not criminal in nature, such as suits to collect debts or divorce.

Civil cases usually involve private parties where one party (the plaintiff) brings suits against another (the defendant) and asks the court to enforce a private right or to require the defendant to pay for some single wrong done to the plaintiff. After hearing from both sides, the court makes a decision known as a civil judgment. Possible outcomes include paying fines, stopping certain activities, or fixing the issues that caused the dispute.

Criminal Cases

A criminal case involves a legal suit between the state or the people and a defendant. In Texas, a criminal case starts when someone is charged with violating a law, called a criminal or penal statute, and the government, through a prosecuting attorney, files a complaint against the accused person, called the defendant. The prosecuting attorney must prove that the defendant is guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.

Serious crimes, known as felonies, include offenses like murder and robbery. If someone is found guilty of a felony, they may face several years in state prison. In the case of the most serious felonies, called capital offenses, the defendant may receive the death penalty. Less serious offenses are called misdemeanors. These include actions like disorderly conduct or driving without a license. If someone is found guilty of a misdemeanor, they may have to pay a fine, serve up to one year in jail, or face both penalties.

Texas Supreme Court

The Texas Supreme Court is the highest state appellate court for civil matters within the Commonwealth. The caseload of the Supreme Court can be divided into three separate categories:

• Handling the disposition of any standard causes (i.e., accepted petitions for writs of habeas corpus or mandamus, granted petitions requiring review, certified questions, direct appeals, and accepted parental notification appeals)
• Determining whether or not to grant a petition for review when concerning the court of appeals judgments
• Disposition of various motions connected to regular causes and petitions

The Supreme Court can also answer questions about state law that federal appellate courts ask. It has the power to give out writs and can conduct proceedings to remove judges.

Additionally, it reviews attorney discipline cases originating at the Board of Disciplinary Appeals of the State Bar of Texas. In 2023, about 1,400 new cases were filed with the Texas Supreme Court, including around 956 petitions for review.

Texas Court of Criminal Appeals

The Court of Criminal Appeals is the greatest-ranked state court meant to handle criminal appeals. Its caseload is made of discretionary and mandatory matters. Each of the cases resulting in the death penalty is automatically sent to the Court of Criminal Appeals from the trial court.

The Court also handles a significant number of cases involving mandatory reviews of post-conviction habeas corpus applications in felony cases that do not involve the death penalty, as it has sole authority in these matters. Additionally, decisions made by intermediate courts of appeals in criminal cases can be appealed to the Court of Criminal Appeals through a petition for discretionary review.

This petition can be filed by the State, the defendant, or both. The Court may also choose to review a decision on its initiative. In 2023, the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals received 3,762 new filings, which is a 7% decrease compared to the previous year.

Texas Court of Appeals

The Court of Appeals has intermediate appellate jurisdiction in both civil and criminal cases from trial courts. Texas has 14 Courts of Appeals. Each court hears appeals from trial courts in its district.

The appeals heard in these courts are based upon the "record" (a written transcription of the testimony given, exhibits introduced, and the documents filed in the trial court) and the written and oral arguments of the appellate lawyers. They do not listen to new testimonies or call witnesses. Instead, they focus on the existing record and the written and spoken arguments from the lawyers.

Each Court of Appeals has at least three justices: a chief justice and two associate justices. Currently, 80 justices are serving across the 14 intermediate courts.

Texas Justice Courts

Texas Justice Courts handle misdemeanor criminal cases where the punishment can only be a fine. They also deal with civil matters when the amount in question is $200 or less. If the amount is between $200 and $10,000, they share jurisdiction with the County Courts.

Texas District Courts

District courts are the primary trial courts in Texas. The District Courts generally have the following jurisdiction:

• Original jurisdiction in all criminal cases of the grade of felony and misdemeanors involving official misconduct;
• Cases of divorce;
• Suits for title to land or enforcement of liens on land;
• Contested elections;
• Suits for slander or defamation;
• Suits on behalf of the State for penalties, forfeitures, and escheat.

Most District Courts handle both criminal and civil cases. In metropolitan areas, these courts often focus on specific types of law, such as civil, criminal, juvenile, or family law. District Courts can take civil cases with a minimum monetary amount, but there is no maximum limit.

District Courts also hear contested probate cases and supervise commissioners' courts. They can issue several types of writs, including habeas corpus, mandamus, injunction, certiorari, sequestration, attachment, and garnishment. These writs help enforce the court's decisions. If someone wants to appeal a judgment from a District Court, they must go to the appeals court, except for cases involving death sentences.

Constitutional County Courts

These courts enjoy a jurisdiction that is distributed equally along with the different justice courts when the amount in question is over $200 but not more than $10,000. They also have concurrent jurisdiction with the District Courts on civil cases where the amount is over $500 but not more than $5,000. Additionally, these courts manage probate cases and have exclusive authority over misdemeanors that do not involve official misconduct. For these misdemeanors, the punishments can include a fine of more than $500 or a sentence of jail time of up to one year.

Statutory County and Probate Courts

Texas Statutory county courts include:

• County civil courts at law
• County courts at law
• County criminal courts at law
• County criminal courts of appeal
• County criminal courts

These courts maintain jurisdiction concurrently along with the District Courts in cases of civil origin. Only cases that exceed $500 in controversy qualify, and the cases mustn't exceed $200,000 in controversy too. The courts also help manage the appeals for decisions and final rulings from the Texas Workers' Compensation Commission. It's essential to note that the statutory county court jurisdiction is different depending on what statute it was created under.

Under normal circumstances, general jurisdiction under the Texas Estates Code is given to statutory probate courts. County Courts enjoy jurisdiction to listen to cases involving chapters and sections from the Texas Health and Safety Code.

Texas Municipal Courts

Texas Municipal Courts deal with criminal violations of city laws and airport board rules. Fines for these violations can reach up to $2,000 in some cases and $500 in others. These courts also work alongside justice courts for certain misdemeanor cases. In addition, these courts can handle criminal cases based on specific city laws allowed by certain parts of the Local Government Code.