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Jackson County, TX

All 12 county-scoped rules

Every published instrument scoped to Jackson County, newest effective date first. 2 region-wide and 1,248 statewide instruments also apply here — search all three layers together. Procedural information only; not legal advice.

Published rules, newest effective date first

Showing 1–12 of 12

Standing OrdersJackson County

Standing Order Regarding Cell Phones, Electronic Devices and Electronic Recording Devices (District Courts of Calhoun, DeWitt, Goliad, Jackson, Refugio and Victoria Counties; Jackson County edition)

Cell phones and electronic devices may be brought into district courtrooms subject to courthouse security policies but must be turned off inside any courtroom; photographing, recording, posting, broadcasting or televising any person, object, document or proceeding in a courtroom (in person, on Zoom or YouTube, or by any other means) is prohibited unless the Court authorizes it, on pain of removal, temporary forfeiture of the device, and fines up to $500 or up to six months' jail for contempt; the device-use restrictions do not apply to attorneys and their staff, but the recording prohibition does.

High confidence· verified September 7, 2026Standing Order Regarding Cell Phones, Electronic Devices and Electronic Recording Devices, Calhoun, DeWitt, Goliad, Jackson, Refugio and Victoria County District Courts, signed May 1, 2026 by Judges Williams, Bauknight, Harvey-Moore and Garza — TOPICs reg. doc 2998 (registered by Jackson County 06/19/2026; the registered scan carries no clerk file stamp).
Standing OrdersJackson County

Standing Order Regarding Use of Artificial Intelligence (District Courts of Calhoun, DeWitt, Goliad, Jackson, Refugio and Victoria Counties; Jackson County edition)

Every self-represented litigant and attorney who uses any form of artificial intelligence for legal research, drafting or analysis in a case before the district courts of the six counties must, before using AI-generated information in a submission or proceeding, sign and file the attached certification (Exhibit A) that all AI-created or AI-contributed language, quotations, sources, citations, arguments and legal analysis were verified as accurate by a human being through traditional non-AI legal sources, and acknowledging responsibility and potential sanctions for any failure to comply.

High confidence· verified September 7, 2026Standing Order Regarding Use of Artificial Intelligence, Calhoun, DeWitt, Goliad, Jackson, Refugio and Victoria County District Courts, signed May 1, 2026 by Judges Williams, Bauknight, Harvey-Moore and Garza, with Exhibit A, Certification Regarding Use of Artificial Intelligence — TOPICs reg. doc 2997 (registered by Jackson County 06/19/2026; the registered scan carries no clerk file stamp).
Standing OrdersJackson County · Judge Kemper Stephen Williams

Standing Protective Order for DFPS Records in Criminal Cases, with Attachment A Protective Order (District Courts of Jackson County)

In criminal cases in which defense counsel (Crossroads Defenders) subpoenas records of the Texas Department of Family and Protective Services, DFPS is ordered to release its records, including audio and video, without redaction by the agreed date, subject to the incorporated Attachment A protective order: Protected Documents may be disclosed only to counsel of record, their necessary staff, experts and investigators, and the Court; may be used solely for the prosecution or defense of the case; must be returned or destroyed within 20 days (or destroyed within 7 days under documented procedures) after the case ends; and remain confidential thereafter under the Court's continuing jurisdiction.

High confidence· verified September 7, 2026Standing Protective Order for DFPS Records, signed July 17, 2025 by Hon. K. Stephen Williams, Judge, 135th District Court, Local Administrative Judge; filed July 17, 2025 (Sharon Mathis, District Clerk, Jackson County), with Protective Order (Attachment "A") — TOPICs reg. doc 2489 (registered 08/07/2025).
Standing OrdersJackson County

Standing Order Regarding Public Access to DFPS Court Records (24th, 135th, 267th and 377th District Courts; Jackson County)

Public access to pleadings, orders and documents filed in suits brought by the Department of Family and Protective Services under Chapters 261, 262 and 264 of the Texas Family Code is restricted; the District Clerks of the six counties may release them only to DFPS, the parties, their attorneys, the attorney ad litem and the guardian ad litem unless the Court specifically permits access for good cause shown.

High confidence· verified September 8, 2026Standing Order Regarding Public Access to DFPS Court Records, District Courts of Calhoun, DeWitt, Goliad, Jackson, Refugio and Victoria Counties (24th, 135th, 267th, 377th Judicial Districts), signed May 24, 2024 by the Local Administrative Judge; filed June 3, 2024 (Calhoun County District Clerk) — TOPICs reg. doc 1971 (registered 06/11/2024).
Standing OrdersJackson County · Judge Kemper Stephen Williams

Joint Standing Order Exempting Tax Suits from Mandatory Disclosures under Rule 194 (24th, 135th, 267th and 377th District Courts; Jackson County)

Parties in tax lawsuits filed under Texas Tax Code Chapters 31-34 in the 24th, 135th, 267th and 377th District Courts are exempt from the mandatory initial-disclosure requirements of Texas Rule of Civil Procedure 194, but must still timely respond to party-initiated discovery requests.

High confidence· verified September 8, 202624th, 135th, 267th and 377th District Courts' Joint Standing Order Regarding Mandatory Disclosures in Tax Cases, signed and entered March 5, 2021 by Hon. Kemper Stephen Williams, Local Administrative Judge; filed March 5, 2021 (Calhoun County District Clerk) — TOPICs reg. doc 867 (registered 01/04/2023).
Self-Represented LitigantsJackson County

Instructions to Pro Se Litigants in Divorce Cases (24th, 135th, 267th and 377th District Courts; Jackson County edition; signed and ordered May 31, 2017)

The district courts' rules for self-represented divorce litigants in Jackson County: court staff cannot give legal advice; pleadings and decrees must be neat, fully completed with no blanks, stripped of inapplicable form language and printed on 8½ × 11 paper; vehicles identified by make, model year and VIN and real estate by legal description and lienholder; decrees with children must provide custody, a possession schedule, health insurance, guideline child support (rarely waivable), paternity orders for children not of the spouse and certified copies of prior orders; the vital-statistics form completed before the hearing; decrees submitted to the judge at docket call on the final hearing date; settings obtained through the Jackson County District Clerk; the clerk provides the instructions to every pro se petitioner.

High confidence· verified September 8, 2026Instructions to Pro Se Litigants in Divorce Cases, 24th, 135th, 267th and 377th Judicial District Courts, Jackson County, Texas, signed and ordered May 31, 2017 by Judges Kemper Stephen Williams (135th), Jack W. Marr (24th), Bobby Bell (267th) and Eli E. Garza (377th) — co.jackson.tx.us District Clerk page posting "Instructions to Pro Se Litigants.pdf" (2 pages).
Standing OrdersJackson County

Standing Order Requiring a Parent Education and Stabilization Course in Suits Affecting the Parent-Child Relationship (District Courts of Jackson County)

In every suit affecting the parent-child relationship (original or modification) filed on or after September 1, 2003, the parties must complete a Parent Education and Stabilization Course meeting Texas Family Code § 105.009 and file proof before the final hearing, with six enumerated exceptions; contested SAPCR issues are heard only on written request for the Contested SAPCR Docket, set on 45 days' notice.

High confidence· verified September 8, 2026Standing Order of the Court (Parent Education and Stabilization Course in SAPCRs), Judicial District Courts (24th, 135th, 267th, 377th) of Calhoun, DeWitt, Goliad, Jackson, Refugio and Victoria Counties, signed March 15, 2017; filed March 17, 2017 (Calhoun County District Clerk) — TOPICs reg. doc 458 (registered 01/01/2023 as "Standing Order of the District Courts of Calhoun County Regarding SAPCR'S").
Standing OrdersJackson County · Judge Kemper Stephen Williams

Standing Order Referring Title IV-D Matters to the Associate Judge for Title IV-D Cases (24th, 135th, 267th and 377th District Courts; Jackson County)

Every aspect of a Title 5 or Chapter 45 Texas Family Code case, including ancillary matters, in which the Title IV-D agency is the moving party is referred to the Associate Judge for Title IV-D Cases appointed to serve the Fourth Administrative Judicial Region.

High confidence· verified September 8, 2026Standing Order of the Court(s) Regarding Referring Certain Matters to Associate Judge for Title IV-D Cases, 24th, 135th, 267th and 377th Judicial District Courts, signed June 15, 2016 by Hon. Stephen Williams, Administrative Judge; filed October 26, 2016 (Calhoun County District Clerk) — TOPICs reg. doc 865 (registered 01/04/2023).
Local RulesJackson County · Judge Kemper Stephen Williams

Order Amending Local Rules for the 24th, 135th, 267th and 377th District Courts — Rules 1.14 and 1.15, Requests for Settings (Jackson County edition; signed December 31, 2014)

Local Rules 1.14 and 1.15 of the 24th, 135th, 267th and 377th District Courts are amended so that every request for a motion hearing, non-jury trial or jury trial goes to the Court Coordinator by e-mail or in writing with a copy to all counsel and a certification that the requesting attorney conferred with every party and that the date is agreed — or, if not agreed, that a good-faith effort to agree failed, in which case the Court sets a telephonic or in-chambers docket control conference to fix the date; the rules bind self-represented litigants directly. Effective immediately on signing, December 31, 2014.

High confidence· verified September 8, 2026Order Amending Local Rules for 24th, 135th, 267th and 377th District Courts (Rules 1.14 and 1.15), signed December 31, 2014 by Hon. Stephen Williams, Local Administrative Judge — Goliad County District Court page posting (newtools.cira.state.tx.us, "Order Amending Local Rules of Court", 3 pages), the only public posting of the signed order.
Motion CalendarJackson County · Judge Kemper Stephen Williams

Standing Order on Summary-Judgment Setting Notices: 15-Minute Argument Limit per Side (District Courts of Jackson County)

By standing order of the Local Administrative Judge, every setting notice (or order setting hearing) on a motion for summary judgment must state that argument on the motion is limited to 15 minutes per side.

High confidence· verified September 8, 2026Standing order of the Local Administrative Judge on summary-judgment setting notices (e-mail of Judge K. Stephen Williams, May 17, 2013, to the district clerks and coordinators, copied to Judges Koetter, Marr and Cheshire) — TOPICs reg. doc 868 (registered 01/04/2023 as "Standing Order Regarding Setting Notices on Motions for Summary Judgment").
Local RulesJackson County

Rules of Court of the 24th, 135th and 267th District Courts (Jackson County edition; promulgated June 11, 1990, Rules 1.14 and 1.15 as amended December 31, 2014)

The local rules of the district courts serving Jackson County (24th, 135th and 267th Judicial Districts, promulgated jointly with the 377th of Victoria County under Rule 3a): case assignment and bench exchange, settings (as amended in 2014 to require conferral and certification of agreed or non-agreed dates through the Court Coordinator), preferential settings, docket calls, dismissal and suspense dockets, pre-trial and scheduling conferences and sanctions for non-compliance, discovery, settlements, conflicting engagements, witnesses and exhibits, voir dire, jury charges and motions in limine, family-law preparation requirements, default and liquidated claims, a 1990 appointed-counsel fee schedule, jury management, attorney vacations, lead counsel, withdrawal, courtroom decorum and local administration.

High confidence· verified September 8, 2026Rules of Court, 24th, 135th and 267th District Courts (Calhoun, DeWitt, Goliad, Jackson, Refugio and Victoria Counties) and 377th District Court (Victoria County), signed and ordered promulgated June 11, 1990 under Tex. R. Civ. P. 3a; Order Amending Local Rules for 24th, 135th, 267th and 377th District Courts (Rules 1.14 and 1.15), signed December 31, 2014 by Hon. Stephen Williams, Local Administrative Judge. Registered on TOPICs by Calhoun County as "Local Rules for the District Courts of Calhoun County" (registered 01/01/2023) — TOPICs reg. doc 457.
Remote / Zoom HearingsJackson County

Regular Zoom Instructions for District Court Hearings (Jackson County District Clerk)

The Jackson County District Clerk's instructions for appearing at district-court Zoom hearings: join 5–10 minutes early under your real name with no background noise, by the invitation link or the web portal with the passcode, wait in the waiting room until admitted, and join with both audio and video so the judge can see and hear you (the host controls muting).

High confidence· verified September 8, 2026Regular Zoom Instructions — Jackson County District Clerk page posting (co.jackson.tx.us, "REGULAR ZOOM INSTRUCTIONS.pdf", 1 page).