Hopkins County
Tenth Administrative Judicial Region (Region 10) · official region site ✓ · County seat: Sulphur Springs
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Hopkins County Standing Order in Family Law Cases (8th and 62nd District Courts and County Court-at-Law; effective July 15, 2025)
Standing order of the three Hopkins County courts that hear family cases: no disruption of children (removal from Texas, school or day-care changes, change of abode, hiding the child, disturbing the child's peace, disparaging remarks, discussing the litigation with or near a child, and in a divorce overnight romantic guests from 10:00 p.m. to 7:00 a.m. while in possession of a child); conduct of the parties (harassing or threatening communication, mail and e-mail interception, use of the other party's passwords, illegal interception or recording); in divorce cases, preservation of property and funds, of personal and business records including electronic information and social-network content, and of insurance; specific authorizations for business, attorney's fees and living expenses. The petitioner attaches the order to the petition and each copy; it is effective on filing as a temporary restraining order for fourteen days and continues as a temporary injunction unless contested at a hearing; protective orders prevail; mediation is encouraged; applications for ex parte relief may not repeat items already in the standing order, and the filing attorney first makes a diligent effort to contact opposing counsel.
Transfer of Cases and Exchange of Benches Between the County Court at Law and the Constitutional County Court of Hopkins County (effective January 2, 2024)
Order of the two Hopkins County county-level judges under Government Code § 74.121: the judges may transfer cases between their dockets when both consent and the receiving court has subject-matter jurisdiction; they may exchange benches and courtrooms so that either may sit for the other who is absent, disabled or disqualified, and either may hear and decide all or part of a pending case without transferring it, but only within the jurisdiction of the judge's own court.
Local Rules for the District Courts and County Court-at-Law of Hopkins County, effective August 1, 2023
Local rules of the 8th and 62nd Judicial District Courts and the County Court-at-Law of Hopkins County, effective August 1, 2023: adoption of the Tenth Administrative Judicial Region's rules; rules of decorum (dress, courtroom conduct, food and devices, conduct at trials and hearings); the District Clerk's allocation of civil, tax, CPS, Attorney General child-support, family law and felony criminal cases among the courts; assignment of judges and concurrent jurisdiction; disqualification of a judge; the annual dismissal docket for family law and other civil cases; and a general reservation of the judges' authority.
Hopkins County Court at Law - Procedures for Waiving Arraignment with Counsel (filed June 13, 2023)
Procedure of the Hopkins County Court at Law for waiving arraignment with counsel: the attorney e-mails the court coordinator for a reset date (pre-trial dockets are held on Thursdays at 9:00 a.m.); the reset form must be signed by the defendant; the completed reset form and a Motion to Waive Arraignment are e-filed - the court has no preferred waiver form - and all motions must be submitted before the day of court.
Hopkins County Policy in All Cases Requiring a Determination of Heirship (effective for cases filed on or after April 1, 2023)
Policy of the Hopkins County judges for heirship proceedings: citation by publication is required in every heirship proceeding, in the county of filing and the county of the decedent's last residence; citation by registered or certified mail on each distributee aged 12 or older, or the parent, managing conservator or guardian of a younger one; the court may require personal service; an attorney ad litem is appointed in every heirship proceeding, with seven listed duties from reviewing the pleadings to submitting a proposed order for payment and discharge; at filing the applicant's attorney deposits $500.00 into the registry of the court and e-files a proposed order appointing the attorney ad litem with the name left blank, and cooperates with the ad litem; no proposed order determining heirship may be submitted until citation is accomplished and the ad litem's report is filed.
Hopkins County Court at Law - Terminating an Income Withholding Order
Procedure of the Hopkins County Court at Law for terminating an income withholding order: an IWO is not reduced or ended automatically when a child turns 18 and does not change while an arrearage is unpaid. Agreed cases - the obligor gives proof that the child is 18 and has graduated from high school, is deceased, or has had the disabilities of minority removed, with a proposed Order Terminating IWO signed by both obligor and obligee, submitted to the court coordinator for the judge's review. Non-agreed cases - the obligor files a Petition to Terminate Withholding for Child Support, the obligee is served or files a waiver or answer, the obligor schedules the hearing and notifies the obligee, and brings the proposed order. Self-represented litigants must use the forms at TexasLawHelp.org.
Hopkins County Court at Law - Procedures for Misdemeanor Docket Resets
Reset procedures of the Hopkins County Court at Law for misdemeanor cases: before the day of court, the attorney (or the unrepresented defendant) contacts the court coordinator for a reset date and completes the reset form, which must be signed by the attorney and the defendant unless the defendant is incarcerated or in an inpatient facility, and is e-filed for the judge's signature; after a missed appearance the court will generally forfeit the bond at once and a bond-forfeiture warrant issues as soon as possible - the former one-week grace period no longer applies - though the court may recall the warrant and reinstate the original bond for exigent circumstances raised through the coordinator; when the defendant is detained, incarcerated or in treatment on the court date, the court is given confirmation of the defendant's location and the case is reset by the projected release date, counsel still signing a reset form.
Hopkins County Court at Law - Court Policies for Family Law Cases
Policies of the Hopkins County Court at Law for family cases: the party who schedules a hearing gives notice and proves it, or the case is reset; security requests by e-mail to the coordinator; equal time limits, 30 minutes a side at temporary-orders hearings, contested final hearings set for 9:00 a.m.; exhibits e-mailed as PDFs before Zoom hearings and pre-marked with numbers for in-person hearings; a certified translator paid 50/50 absent agreement; hearings set by e-mail to the coordinator with the other side copied and an e-filed notice of hearing; neutral Orders Setting Hearing; ex parte requests e-filed, no TRO items that repeat the standing order, and a diligent effort to contact opposing counsel first; child interviews in chambers with the coordinator as witness; written proposed property divisions and financial information; a pleading describing the children's health insurance and cash medical support where coverage is governmental; agreed final orders signed by every party and attorney need no prove-up if signatures are handwritten and the order recites non-appearance and waiver of a record; a Default Judgment Checklist filed before a default hearing is scheduled.
Standing Order Regarding Code of Criminal Procedure Art. 17.027(a)(1) for Counties Within the 8th Judicial District - Hopkins County (signed July 19, 2022)
Standing order of the local administrative judge for Hopkins, Franklin, Rains and Delta Counties under Code of Criminal Procedure art. 17.027: it designates, county by county, the courts that conduct magistration under art. 15.17 and may release on bail a person charged with a new felony while a previous felony charge is pending. For Hopkins County: the 8th and 62nd Judicial District Courts, the County Court at Law, the County Court, and the Justices of the Peace of Precincts 1 and 2. (Franklin and Delta: the 8th and 62nd, the county court and the county's justice of the peace; Rains: the 8th and 354th, the county court and the county's justice of the peace.)
Hopkins County Court at Law Order Exempting Delinquent Tax Lawsuits from the Mandatory Disclosure Requirements of TRCP 194 (signed November 30, 2021)
Order of the Hopkins County Court at Law: from November 30, 2021 until discontinued, delinquent tax collection lawsuits assigned to the court, and the parties in them, are exempt from the mandatory initial-disclosure requirements of TRCP 194 et seq.; the waiver reaches only the mandatory requirement, so a party served with discovery requests by the opposing party must still answer them fully and timely; the court may discontinue the waiver at any time in the same manner.
Standing Order in All Probate and Guardianship Cases, Hopkins County Court and County Court-at-Law (signed June 23, 2021)
Standing order of the Hopkins County Court and County Court-at-Law for probate and guardianship cases: the Estates Code governs; under Chapter 81 of the Government Code a licensed attorney must represent any person serving as administrator or executor, and the judges cannot appoint an administrator or executor who is not represented; a representative who discharges counsel after opening a proceeding and then fails to comply with the statutory requirements will be required to retain counsel again for the related hearings; an attorney is strongly recommended in all other cases.
Standing Order Regarding Access to Mental Health Case Files, Hopkins County Constitutional Court and County Court at Law (March 11, 2020)
Standing order on mental-health case files in Hopkins County: the attorney appointed for the patient is authorized to obtain a copy of the patient's entire case file, in paper or digital form; a digital file is kept encrypted at all times and a paper file locked, secure and private, until the attorney destroys it; an attorney who takes no copy may inspect the County Clerk's original file during business hours; the County Clerk alone maintains, file-marks and keeps originals; copies may be made only for the patient's attorney. The order recites compliance with Health & Safety Code § 571.015, which is attached, federal medical privacy law and due process.
Rules Governing the Procedure for Making a Record of Court Proceedings by Electronic Recording, County Court at Law of Hopkins County (approved February 11, 2020)
Local rules of the Hopkins County Court at Law on electronically recorded proceedings, approved by the Supreme Court of Texas (Misc. Docket No. 20-9023) and the Court of Criminal Appeals (Misc. Docket No. 20-005): no stenographic record is required of proceedings that are electronically recorded; the court designates court recorders and sets their duties (a complete and transcribable recording, a detailed log, filing the log and exhibits, storage, restricted access to the original recording, certified copies on payment); the reporter's record on appeal is the certified recording with bound and indexed exhibits, filed within fifteen days after perfection of the appeal; each party files with its brief an appendix containing a written transcription of the relevant portions and copies of relevant exhibits; presumptions, supplemental appendices, inability to afford costs, correction of inaccuracies, and costs are addressed.
Local Rules for E-Filing in Civil Cases in Hopkins County (effective January 1, 2020)
E-filing rules of the four Hopkins County courts: self-represented litigants are encouraged but not required to e-file; a document they do not e-file is filed in person at the clerk's office, not with the judge at the bench, unless the judge grants an exception for good cause; proposed orders may be e-filed or presented in paper, and the judge either bench-marks and retains the paper original or e-files it, in which case the e-filed order becomes the original; attorneys must e-file all pleadings unless excepted for good cause and are encouraged to e-file proposed orders; original wills are not e-filed and must be filed with the clerk within three business days after the application is e-filed; sealed, in camera and restricted documents are not e-filed; emergency filings outside business hours; retention of original exhibits; the clerk designates the electronic or scanned document as the official record; documents e-filed by the judge are text-searchable PDFs filed by the end of the business day after the hearing.
Hopkins County Court at Law Visitation Guidelines for Children Under 3 (filed December 10, 2019)
General visitation policy of the Hopkins County Court at Law for children under three, in two schedules. Parents less than 100 miles apart: 0-6 months - one hour each Tuesday and Thursday evening and two hours each Saturday in the custodial parent's home; 6-18 months - one weekday evening and 10 a.m.-2 p.m. on the 1st, 3rd, 4th and 5th Saturdays, which may be outside the home, the custodial parent providing a car seat and breast milk or formula; 18 months-3 years - 9 a.m.-6 p.m. Saturday and Sunday of the 1st, 3rd and 5th weekends plus listed holidays and the child's birthday, with overnight visitation on the standard schedule after age 2 where an older sibling is already on it. Parents more than 100 miles apart: one weekend a month (two from 18 months), daytime hours, with 72 hours' notice (7 days from 18 months) and listed holidays. The court may designate another supervised location.
Hopkins County Court at Law - Procedures for Misdemeanor Docket Resets
Hopkins County Court at Law procedure for resetting a misdemeanor docket setting: how a represented or unrepresented defendant obtains a reset before the day of court (contact the court coordinator, complete and sign the reset form, and e-file it for the judge's signature) and how resets are handled on or after the day of court.
Tenth (10th) Administrative Judicial Region — 10th AJR Local Rules
Tenth (10th) Administrative Judicial Region — 10th AJR Local Rules, as registered in the statewide TOPICs local-rules registry (posted 01/01/2023). The operative requirements are quoted verbatim; the registered document is the controlling text.
N.D. Tex. LR 83.9 — Attorneys Not Admitted to Practice Before this Court
N.D. Tex. LR 83.9 — Attorneys Not Admitted to Practice Before this Court: the court's own rule, verbatim from LOCAL CIVIL RULES OF THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE NORTHERN DISTRICT OF TEXAS (Effective September 1, 2026), official PDF, sha-custodied. Court-level requirement: applies in every case before the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas alongside the federal rules and any judge-specific procedures.
N.D. Tex. LR 83.8 — Loss of Membership and Discipline of Attorneys
N.D. Tex. LR 83.8 — Loss of Membership and Discipline of Attorneys: the court's own rule, verbatim from LOCAL CIVIL RULES OF THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE NORTHERN DISTRICT OF TEXAS (Effective September 1, 2026), official PDF, sha-custodied. Court-level requirement: applies in every case before the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas alongside the federal rules and any judge-specific procedures.
N.D. Tex. LR 83.7 — Admission of Attorneys
N.D. Tex. LR 83.7 — Admission of Attorneys: the court's own rule, verbatim from LOCAL CIVIL RULES OF THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE NORTHERN DISTRICT OF TEXAS (Effective September 1, 2026), official PDF, sha-custodied. Court-level requirement: applies in every case before the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas alongside the federal rules and any judge-specific procedures.
N.D. Tex. LR 83.6 — Applications to Proceed In Forma Pauperis
N.D. Tex. LR 83.6 — Applications to Proceed In Forma Pauperis: the court's own rule, verbatim from LOCAL CIVIL RULES OF THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE NORTHERN DISTRICT OF TEXAS (Effective September 1, 2026), official PDF, sha-custodied. Court-level requirement: applies in every case before the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas alongside the federal rules and any judge-specific procedures.
N.D. Tex. LR 83.4.1 — Compliance with Standards of Litigation Conduct
N.D. Tex. LR 83.4.1 — Compliance with Standards of Litigation Conduct: the court's own rule, verbatim from LOCAL CIVIL RULES OF THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE NORTHERN DISTRICT OF TEXAS (Effective September 1, 2026), official PDF, sha-custodied. Court-level requirement: applies in every case before the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas alongside the federal rules and any judge-specific procedures.
N.D. Tex. LR 83.4 — Conduct of Attorneys at Trial or Hearing
N.D. Tex. LR 83.4 — Conduct of Attorneys at Trial or Hearing: the court's own rule, verbatim from LOCAL CIVIL RULES OF THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE NORTHERN DISTRICT OF TEXAS (Effective September 1, 2026), official PDF, sha-custodied. Court-level requirement: applies in every case before the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas alongside the federal rules and any judge-specific procedures.
N.D. Tex. LR 83.3 — Assignment of Cases
N.D. Tex. LR 83.3 — Assignment of Cases: the court's own rule, verbatim from LOCAL CIVIL RULES OF THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE NORTHERN DISTRICT OF TEXAS (Effective September 1, 2026), official PDF, sha-custodied. Court-level requirement: applies in every case before the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas alongside the federal rules and any judge-specific procedures.
N.D. Tex. LR 83.2 — Miscellaneous and Special Orders
N.D. Tex. LR 83.2 — Miscellaneous and Special Orders: the court's own rule, verbatim from LOCAL CIVIL RULES OF THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE NORTHERN DISTRICT OF TEXAS (Effective September 1, 2026), official PDF, sha-custodied. Court-level requirement: applies in every case before the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas alongside the federal rules and any judge-specific procedures.