Shelton T. W. Gibbs IV

Discovery Control Plan and Scheduling Order (86th Dist. Ct., Kaufman Cty.) (TOPICs reg. doc 2114)

The 86th's standard Discovery Control Plan and Scheduling Order (entered per case with dates; the standing terms bind every case that receives it): Daubert/Dupont expert challenges on file at least 10 days before hearing; dispositive motions filed AND heard by the set date; MEDIATION REQUIRED IN ALL CASES, completed 5 weeks before trial — failure to mediate is not an automatic continuance ground, and parties who fail to mediate are limited to 30 minutes per side at trial; jury-trial pretrial production two weeks out (one-page trial summary, proposed charges, exhibits for stipulation, Rule 166a matters; limine and other pretrial motions filed 10 days before the formal pretrial conference); jury trials set Mondays at 9:00 a.m., bench trials Fridays at 9:00 a.m. with a default-judgment warning; continuances filed and ruled on before the trial date absent extenuating circumstances.

86th District Court Time Standards (posted on the court's official page)

The 86th's posted disposition time standards: criminal — revocations 6 months, state-jail felonies 90 days, third-degree 180 days, second-degree 9 months, first-degree 1 year; family — uncontested 3 months, contested 6–9 months, with the court's modification and enforcement expectations stated in the same table.

County Court at Law No. 2 Court Rules and Procedures (Kaufman Cty., posted on the court's official page)

Judge Bobby L. Rich, Jr.'s court rules for CCL No. 2 (the court holding misdemeanors and DWI felonies L–Z, contested probate, mental health, property tax, and half the county civil docket under the county assignment rules): the certificate-of-conference gate and two-alternative certificate; the judge-approval list for show-cause, habeas, attachment, garnishment, injunctive, protective, and TRO-extension orders; the court's Notice of Hearing (County Court at Law #2, 2nd Floor) with the certificate required on all notices and administrator-set hearings; TRCP 21 removal/reset with cost exposure; agreed final settings by scheduling order that must include mediation completed at least 5 weeks before trial; dilatory pleas heard ≥10 days pre-trial; mandatory scheduling conferences with the contents list and the trial-date-at-temporary-orders rule; optional pretrial conferences with attendance/authority rules and no-show consequences; conflicting-engagement and mediation-precedence rules; and the DWOP regime — the court's civil-practice framework in the 86th/422nd family, adapted to the county court at law.

Administrative Order Establishing Procedure for Bail Review under Article 17.029, Code of Criminal Procedure (Kaufman Cty. dist. cts., signed Dec. 17, 2025) (Index-25-485)

The district courts' SB 9 (Art. 17.029 CCP) bail-review procedure, signed Dec. 17, 2025 by Judge Casey Blair as Local Administrative District Judge: in every felony case where the initial bail was set by a magistrate who is not a district judge, a written request (a "Motion for Review of Bail" preferred, no form required) filed with the District Clerk triggers immediate time-stamping, assignment to the district judge who would receive the indicted case (any available district judge if unavailable), and immediate email-and-telephone notice to the reviewing judge with the defendant's name, filing time, the motion, current bail and conditions, and custody status; the clerk logs every request. The reviewing judge must rule "as soon as practicable, but no later than the close of business on the next business day" after the clerk received the request, complying with Art. 17.09 and all bail rules, considering the offense reports, affidavits, criminal history, and any evidence, with a discretionary hearing (video or in person for in-custody defendants). To increase bail or add conditions for an out-of-custody defendant, the judge must first issue a summons to a bail hearing and may issue an arrest warrant only if the defendant fails to appear.

Rules for Assignment of Cases for District and County Clerk (Kaufman Cty., eff. Apr. 5, 2024) (Index-24-458)

The county's case-assignment map, signed by Judge Casey Blair as Administrative District Judge (effective 04/05/2024) and directed to the District and County Clerks: CCL No. 2 (Judge Rich) takes all misdemeanors and DWI felonies for last names L–Z, all contested probate, all mental-health hearings, all property-tax cases, and half the county civil docket; the CCL (Judge Russell) takes misdemeanors and DWI felonies A–K, juvenile, CPS, condemnation, and the other half of county civil; each district court (86th Blair, 422nd Gibbs, 489th Gray) takes one-third of district civil, one-third of family, and one-third of non-DWI felonies split by defendant last name (A–F Blair, G–M Gibbs, N–Z Gray).

Kaufman County Standing Order for Family Law Cases (eff. filings on/after July 18, 2024) (TOPICs reg. doc 2111)

The county-wide family standing order of the Kaufman County District and County Courts at Law (signed July 15, 2024 by all five judges; effective for every divorce and SAPCR filed on or after July 18, 2024; adopted under Family Code §§ 6.501–6.503, 105.001, 105.009): contempt-enforceable (up to $500 and six months' county jail per violation plus fee judgments), it operates as a 14-day TRO after filing and continues as a temporary injunction unless contested; the petitioner must attach it to the Original Petition. It orders the familiar protections: TRO/ex-parte applications require 2-hour advance notice to the other side (with irreparable-harm certificate exceptions); children may not be hidden, moved from Texas, or withdrawn from school absent written agreement or court order; no derogatory comments, litigation talk in a child's hearing, alcohol within 12 hours of possession, illegal drugs, or overnight dating partners during possession (divorces); conduct rules against harassment, mail diversion, account access, and pet interference; property/records/insurance preservation in divorces (including a metadata/native-format preservation clause and a no-social-media-deletion clause); mediation REQUIRED in all contested family cases (≥45 days before trial, rotating-list assignment if not agreed, sanctions up to dismissal or default for non-participation, and no continuance for failure to mediate); bond waived.

Standing Order Regarding Audio/Visual Evidence (Kaufman Cty. dist. and county courts, signed July 1, 2024) (TOPICs reg. doc 2112)

The county-wide media-exhibit order signed by all five Kaufman County district and county-court-at-law judges: audio/video exhibits must be in a format the court of appeals can upload and accept — audio files capped at 100 MB, video at 2 GB, valid extensions MP3, MP4, and WAV (the sponsoring party converts anything else); ONLY the offered segments may be on the tendered media (a 50-call jail DVD must be cut down to the offered calls); and if the 5th Court of Appeals cannot open an exhibit on appeal, the sponsoring party must re-supply it in the acceptable format.