Travis County Court Information and Location

The Travis County Court at Law number 1 and Court at Law number 2 operate on the central docket system. This implies that all civil cases are scheduled for hearing in the court from the county court’s one master calendar without regard to the court in which it was filed. Court number 1 or court number 2 can be contacted by phone or in person to obtain a setting on the central docket.

There are weeks which are divided into jury and non-jury weeks, and schedules of these can be obtained from the Court Operations Officer’s office or at http://www.traviscountycourts.org/. These schedules are mainly released in the month of May every year.

Jury Settings

Jury cases are normally set on Monday at 9:00 am on the weeks that are appointed as “jury weeks”. Court hearings which require more than three hours are mainly scheduled on Monday through Friday at 9:00 am on weeks that are designated “non-jury weeks”. Court hearings that require less than three hours are scheduled on Monday through Friday at 9:00 am or at 2:00 pm daily on weeks that are designated as “non-jury weeks”.

Small Claims Court

If anyone appeals their case from the Small Claims Court or Justice of the Peace, then your case will be heard by the county courts. It should be noted that the procedures of the county courts varies from those in Small Claims Court or Justice of Peace. There are certain rules and procedures for appeals:

-    The rules of evidence and procedures apply in cases of appeals that arise from Justice of Peace courts.
-    The rules of evidence and procedures also apply in appeals that are from Small Claims courts, but are to a certain extent relaxed as per the Rule 101(b) of the Texas Rules of Evidence, and 28.033, 28.034 and 28.053 of the Texas Government Code.
-    In Small Claims Court and on appeals in county court, some discovery is permitted but is limited to that which is “considered appropriate and permitted by the judge.”

There are some cases which are common types of appeals that the county court hears. But there are some rules which one should be aware of for these types of appeals.

Appeals of eviction cases:

-    These cases are given preferences and are set expeditiously upon request
-    After these eviction cases are filed for eight days in the county court, these cases may be set at anytime after this and are not subjected to 45-day notice requirement as per Rule 245 of the Texas Rules of Civil Procedure.

Local Rules of Civil Procedures

One can get a copy of the Local Rules of Civil Procedure and Rules of Decorum which are available on the Travis County website at http://www.co.travis.tx.us/courts/files/ . You can also obtain them free of charge from the Court Offices at Room 206 and Room 211 of the Heman Marion Sweatt Courthouse.

E- Filing Procedures in County Court

You can refer the Travis County Local Rules of the County for Electronic Filing of Court Documents; this can be found at http://www.co.travis.tx.us/courts/files/documents_forms/civil/forms_civilCounty/efiling_LocalRules_CCL.pdf .

Or, you can visit the Travis County Courthouse:
1000 Guadalupe
Austin, TX 78701

Or the Thurman Criminal Justice Center:
509 W. 11th Street,
Austin, TX 78701