336th Judicial District Court & County Court at Law Standing Order Regarding Exhibits (Fannin Cty., entered Dec. 18, 2019) (TOPICs reg. doc 1372)
The joint exhibits order applying to ALL criminal and civil cases in both courts: uniform sequential numbering (Exhibit 1; subparts 1-A / 1-A1; redacted exhibits paired with an "R" original), label placement rules, 8.5×11 documents unless originals or unreasonable, per-image numbering for multi-photo media; digital audio/video in appellate-accepted formats per the Uniform Format Manual (audio ≤100 MB and video ≤5 GB per file, split into labeled subparts if larger; the enumerated accepted extensions with sponsoring-party conversion duty and appeal re-supply duty); ONLY offered files on tendered media; a duty to ensure digital evidence can be published in the courtroom BEFORE trial; physical-exhibit labeling incl. string tags and envelopes with advance arrangement for bulky items and biohazard/controlled-substance alerts; a FIREARMS section (unloaded, action open, no magazines, locking safety cord, physically incapacitated; no pointing or trigger-well contact; prior approval for function demonstrations; firearm-plus-ammunition never to a witness absent expert status and approval, and never to the jury during deliberations); reporter custody of admitted exhibits; and exclusion as the enforcement mechanism.
Blanket Order Regarding Withdraw of Capias by District Clerk upon Confirmation that Conditions of Bond Served on Defendant (336th Dist. Ct., Fannin Cty., ordered Sept. 2, 2020) (TOPICs reg. doc 1368)
The 336th's blanket criminal-bond mechanism: when the court adds Conditions of Bond after reviewing an indictment, a capias issues to serve those conditions on the defendant — and the District Clerk is authorized to WITHDRAW that capias upon receipt of information confirming the Conditions of Bond have in fact been served.
336th Judicial District Court General Order No. 2010-1 — Standing Order Regarding Payment of Attorneys Ad Litem in Tax Suits (eff. Jan. 19, 2010) (TOPICs reg. doc 2680)
The 336th's standing order in every tax case: attorneys ad litem appointed to represent unknown parties in tax suits submit their statements for services in the usual fashion for court appointments, subject to court approval; once approved, the fees are court costs — and they must be PAID BEFORE any tax suit is dismissed from the docket.
Standing Order Regarding Discovery and Mediation (336th Dist. Ct., Fannin Cty., signed Nov. 23, 2022; eff. Jan. 1, 2023) (TOPICs reg. doc 1364)
The 336th's standing appointment of Fannin County Judge H.N. "Newt" Cunningham III as the court's Rule 171 Master in Chancery and mediator: discovery disputes in the 336th may be referred to the master for hearing and recommendation, Level-3 discovery-control-plan recommendations may be made through the master, and mediations assigned by the court to the master are WITHOUT CHARGE to the parties — while parties remain free to agree on their own mediator at their own expense.
Standing Order Regarding Public Access to DFPS Court Records (336th Dist. Ct., Fannin Cty., signed May 22, 2024) (TOPICs reg. doc 1936)
The 336th's confidentiality order for DFPS suits (Family Code chs. 261, 262, 264): finding that CAPTA (42 U.S.C.A. § 5106a(b)(2)(B)(viii)) and Family Code § 261.201 make child-abuse records confidential, the court restricts public access to all pleadings, orders, and documents in DFPS-brought suits — maintained restricted by the District Clerk, accessible only to DFPS, the parties, their attorneys, the attorney ad litem, and the guardian ad litem unless specifically permitted by the court — with clerk directives to file the order, provide it to ad litem appointees, send it to the CASA agency, and submit it to the district judge.
Criminal Efile Rules Consent Form (Fannin Cty. Dist. Ct., signed Jan. 19, 2017, implementing SCOTX Misc. Docket No. 15-9205) (TOPICs reg. doc 1375)
The consent that implemented criminal-case electronic filing in the Fannin County district court: under Rule 1.2 of the Supreme Court's Rules Governing Electronic Filing in Criminal Cases (Misc. Docket No. 15-9205, eff. Nov. 1, 2015), the District Clerk requested and the district judge gave written consent to implement criminal e-filing — so filers in criminal cases in the 336th may file and serve documents through the electronic filing system or by paper. The statewide rules text accompanies the consent in the registered filing.
336th District Court & Fannin County Court at Law General Order No. 2010-1 Regarding Family Law Cases — Standing Order Regarding Children, Property and Conduct of the Parties (eff. July 25, 2010) (TOPICs reg. doc 1385)
General Order 2010-1 — the standing order in every divorce and SAPCR filed in the 336th District Court and Fannin County Court at Law: child protections (no removal from Texas, no school/day-care disruption, no hiding or moving the child, no disparagement of the other party or their family, no discussing litigation with or near the child, and no romantic partner overnight — 8:00 p.m. to 7:00 a.m. — during possession); conduct rules (no vulgar or threatening communications, no unreasonable-hour or anonymous calls, no opening or diverting the other party's mail, no intercepting, deleting, or recording electronic communications); fifteen property-preservation prohibitions in divorce cases (no destroying/concealing/encumbering property, no misrepresentation on proper request, no new debt except case expenses, no account withdrawals or cash spending except as authorized, no retirement borrowing, no signing the other's name on instruments, no credit-card termination, no taking the other party's vehicle, no altering tax withholding, no terminating utilities or contractual services); records preservation (family/property/financial/business records including e-mail and stored digital data; no falsification); insurance protections; specific authorizations (usual business, reasonable attorney's fees and living expenses, authorized withdrawals); attach-to-petition service with 14-day TRO effect continuing as a temporary injunction if uncontested; protective-order supremacy; mediation encouragement.
Joint Local Administrative Order of the 336th District Court and County Court at Law (Fannin Cty., signed Oct. 31, 2019) (TOPICs reg. doc 1374)
The joint local administrative order under which the 336th District Court and the Fannin County Court at Law may exchange benches in cases where the two courts have concurrent jurisdiction — the county's standing bench-flexibility mechanism between its district and statutory county courts.
General Rules for In Person Trials (Fannin Cty. JP Precinct 1)
JP Precinct 1's posted trial rules: proceedings are governed by TRCP Part V; any Fannin County justice may sit for any other justice court through a bench-exchange agreement (recusal, absence, or necessity); decorum; brief opening statements; the Rule invoked on request or the court's initiative; evidence requires copies for the court's file, the other side, and yourself (irrelevant evidence excluded); orderly presentation with plaintiff first and objections ruled on; the judge may question or summon witnesses to ensure a correct judgment and speedy disposition; closing statements; judgment announced in open court — with 21 days to appeal civil/small-claims judgments and 5 days for evictions.
Orders Referring Certain Matters to Associate Judge for Title IV-D Cases (336th Dist. Ct. & Fannin Cty. Ct. at Law, Jan. 2016) (TOPICs reg. docs 1377 & 1378)
The paired referral orders under which both Fannin courts with Title IV-D jurisdiction route child-support-agency cases to the regional associate judge: any aspect of a case under Family Code Title 5 or Chapter 45 in which the moving party is the Title IV-D agency — including ancillary matters — is referred to the Associate Judge for Title IV-D Cases appointed to serve the First Administrative Judicial Region, with the clerk recording the order in the court's minutes. The 336th's order was signed Jan. 26, 2016 (Judge Blake) and the County Court at Law's parallel order Jan. 20, 2016 (Judge Butler).
Random Assignment of Family Law Cases, Standing Order 2011-1 (Fannin Cty., signed Jan. 3, 2011) (TOPICs reg. doc 1381)
Fannin County's family-law docketing rules (Standing Order 2011-1, signed Jan. 3, 2011): family cases are docketed numerically and randomly assigned by the District Clerk between the 336th District Court and the County Court at Law; juvenile and child-protective cases go to the 336th (as modified by the 2023 juvenile-courts designation); continuing-jurisdiction requests are filed in that court; bills of review go to the rendering court; ancillary and post-judgment collection actions follow the judgment; Rule 174(a) transfer/consolidation motions are filed in the earliest case (with the SAPCR-into-divorce exception); a 180-day refile-after-dismissal transfer rule prevents court-shopping; incoming transfers from other counties are assigned under these rules regardless of the transferring order's specification; severed claims stay in the same court as new cases; ex parte applications go first to the pending court; and ad litem appointees must receive all pleadings within five days of appointment notice.
Standing Order — Provision of Current Address of Party in Civil Action, Express Authorization of Courts in Fannin County (336th & 6th Dist. Cts., signed Sept. 22, 1997; eff. Sept. 1, 1997) (TOPICs reg. doc 2747)
The district courts' standing directive to the clerk implementing CPRC § 30.015 party-address notices: the § 30.015 notice must be placed on a separate clerk-approved document or card, distinct from the pleadings, maintained by the clerk in a location not subject to public disclosure and never filed in the papers of the cause — while the courts expressly authorize that names and addresses appearing IN pleadings, motions, and filed documents are NOT confidential under § 30.015 and may be disclosed as otherwise allowed by law.
Standing Order Regarding Family Stabilization Course Requirement — 2010 (Fannin Cty., eff. Jan. 1, 2011) (TOPICs reg. doc 1383)
The family-seminar mandate of the courts with family jurisdiction: all SAPCR parties must complete a court-approved seminar on the issues confronting children in divorce, custody, and support litigation — within 60 days of the petition/motion filing or notice (whichever first), or before any temporary-orders hearing — filing the original completion certificate with the district clerk; attorneys must facilitate client compliance; failure exposes a party to contempt, stricken pleadings, or TRCP 215 sanctions; good-cause waivers allowed; parties with a certificate from the prior two years are exempt.
Standing Order Regarding Juvenile Cases #10-2023 (Fannin Cty., signed Oct. 18, 2023) (TOPICs reg. doc 1657)
The three-court juvenile-structure order signed by all three Fannin County judges: to increase court time for juvenile administration, the County Court at Law and the County Court are designated juvenile courts alongside the 336th District Court; the CCL hears juvenile detention hearings, release/probation-condition compliance, adjudication hearings, pretrial and jury-trial hearings and related matters; the County Judge serves as back-up to the District Court and CCL; and the District Court retains counsel appointments, the Juvenile Appointment Wheel, and fee-voucher payment, with concurrent participation preserved — effective immediately.
Standing Order Regarding Restriction of Online Publication of Sensitive Data (336th Dist. Ct. & Fannin Cty. Ct. at Law, eff. Jan. 1, 2026) (TOPICs reg. doc 2770)
The current-bench joint order on TRCP 21c sensitive data: filings must have sensitive data redacted (with 21c(e) resubmission when violated); six recognized at-risk document classes — custody evaluations, psychological evaluations, drug-test results, full DFPS case records, mental-health records, and medical records — may be restricted by the District Clerk from internet posting without further order (though not sealed absent a sealing order); and a document that must contain unredacted sensitive data is marked "NOTICE: THIS DOCUMENT CONTAINS SENSITIVE DATA," which the clerk may likewise restrict from online posting. Effective Jan. 1, 2026.
Standing Order Regarding Sealing of Birth Certificates in Compliance with Texas Family Code Section 102.008(c-1) (336th Dist. Ct. & Fannin Cty. Ct. at Law, eff. Jan. 1, 2026) (TOPICs reg. doc 2769)
The current-bench joint standing order implementing Family Code § 102.008(c-1) in Fannin County: in any Family Code suit where § 102.008(c-1) compliance is required, the District Clerk seals all birth certificates and alternate proofs of the identity of the child's parents. Effective Jan. 1, 2026; signed by Presiding Judges Christina Tillett (336th) and Charles Butler (CCL).
