Brent Hill

367th District Court (Denton County) — Practice Tips of Judge Brent Hill (e-mail the administrator; full names, not initials; settings 9 a.m. and 1:30 p.m., trials 8:30 a.m.; hearings by e-mail after conferring with two business days; temporary hearings 30 minutes per side; docket call Fridays 8:30 a.m.; prove-ups by submission; mandatory mediation with DCAP Exhibit A's; entry docket Thursdays 8:30 a.m.)

Judge Brent Hill's practice tips page for the 367th District Court: e-mail is the preferred and, for hearing dates, cancellations and settlement announcements, the required mode of communicating with the court administrator, and no one contacts the judge unless directed; parties' and children's full names, not initials (Family Code); settings at 9:00 a.m. and 1:30 p.m. with full-day trials at 8:30 a.m.; dockets of full day, half day, over one hour and one hour or less; hearings are set by e-mailing the administrator, conferring with the other side on the offered dates without the administrator copied, then confirming and e-filing a notice of hearing; temporary hearings limited to 30 minutes per side absent special circumstances raised at the start; docket call on a Friday at 8:30 a.m. about ten days before full-day and jury trials; divorce prove-ups by submission with all signatures on the decree and a prove-up affidavit on file, or in person by appointment; conferencing on dates required in ongoing cases with two business days to respond, availability defined, failure to confer forfeits the hearing; mediation mandatory before final hearing, not mediating does not continue the trial, fees may be assessed for forcing a motion for mediation, DCAP orders must attach each party's Exhibit A or are rejected, outcome letter places settled cases on the entry docket; the entry docket (about twice monthly, Thursdays 8:30 a.m.) is a built-in motion to enter and counsel attends if the order is not entered first; the court's exhibit rules govern witness and exhibit lists; child interviews are set with the companion hearing and children are not brought to court.