Dallas County Civil District Courts — Omnibus Order of Referral… — TX · BenchPath

Dallas County Civil District Courts — Omnibus Order of Referral to Associate Judges (Gov't Code ch. 54A)

High confidence· verified August 28, 2026Divisional InstructionsIn the District Courts of Dallas County, Omnibus Order of Referral (eff. Jan. 1, 2015; signed by Hon. Bonnie Goldstein, 44th District Court, and Hon. Staci Williams, 101st District Court)

Summary

The Civil District Courts' Omnibus Order of Referral under Gov't Code §54A.101 et seq. (effective Jan. 1, 2015): all matters referred to the civil associate judges with §54A.108 powers, trial-on-the-merits referrals subject to a written objection filed within 10 days of notice, no objection to other referrals, de novo requests within seven working days of notice of the decision, and associate-judge orders in full force pending de novo except receiver appointments.

Applies to

Texas > Dallas County > the Civil District Courts — the standing referral framework for the civil associate judges; the order names the 2015-era associate judges (Sheryl Day McFarlin and Monica McCoy Purdy — the latter now the 95th's district judge per OCA), while the current civil AJ layer (Judges Muñoz and Craig) operates under this framework per their composed instruments

Requirement

REFERRAL: under Title 2, Subtitle D, Chapter 54A, §54A.101 et seq. of the Government Code, the Civil District Courts of Dallas County refer to the civil associate judges "all matters that may come before these Courts. This Order of Referral shall encompass the powers granted under Section 54A.108 of the Tex. Gov't Code." TRIAL REFERRALS: "A District Judge may refer any civil case or portion of a civil case to an Associate Judge for resolution, including a trial on the merits. Unless a party files a written objection to the Associate Judge hearing a trial on the merits, the District Judge may refer the trial to the Associate Judge. A party must file an objection no later than the 10th day after the date the party receives notice that the Associate Judge will hear the trial." OTHER REFERRALS AND DE NOVO: "No objection may be made to the referral of any other matter to an Associate Judge. However, a party may file a request for a de novo hearing of an Associate Judge's decision within seven working days of receiving notice of said decision. Pending a de novo hearing before the referring Court, an order of the Associate Judge is in full force and effect and is enforceable as an order of the referring Court, except for an order providing for the appointment of a receiver."

Source of truth

Official source: Dallas County Civil District Courts — dallascounty.org (county site tree)
Source health: Healthy · checked September 27, 2026
Effective date: January 1, 2015
Last verified: August 28, 2026benchpath-tx-ajr1-dallas-2026-08-28

Reviewer note: Own-site instrument composed by vision (image-only scan rendered and read 2026-08-28; custody sha in the crawl ledger); the named associate judges and signing judges are 2015-era officers recorded historically — the referral mechanics (10-day trial objection, 7-working-day de novo, interim enforceability) remain the posted operating framework the current AJ instruments implement.