477th District Court (Denton County) — Practice Tips of Judge… — TX · BenchPath

477th District Court (Denton County) — Practice Tips of Judge Michael Dickens (e-mail the administrator; full names, not initials; hearings set by e-mail after conferring; temporary hearings 30 minutes per side; docket call Fridays 8:30 a.m.; prove-ups by submission; mandatory mediation with DCAP exhibits attached; entry docket Fridays 1:30 p.m.)

High confidence· verified September 6, 2026Judge PreferencesPractice Tips for the 477th District Court (Judge Michael Dickens; court administrator Kim Kunz) — posted on the court's page

Summary

Judge Michael Dickens's practice tips for the 477th 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, in the style and body of pleadings (Family Code); Monday–Wednesday mornings for jury trials and long hearings, Thursdays and Fridays for hearings of an 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 or jury trials or pro se enforcement motions; divorce prove-ups accepted by submission with all signatures on the decree and a prove-up affidavit on file, or in person by appointment; conferencing on dates is required in ongoing cases, availability defined, and failure to confer may forfeit the hearing; mediation is 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 completed exhibits or are rejected, and the outcome letter places settled cases on the entry docket; the entry docket (about twice monthly, Fridays 1:30 p.m.) is a built-in motion to enter, not a dismissal docket, and counsel must attend if the order is not entered first.

Applies to

Texas > Denton County > 477th District Court — attorneys and self-represented parties (family docket).

Source of truth

"Email is the preferred mode of communication and in some instances the required mode of communication with the court administrator. If you are requesting dates for a hearing or trial, cancelling a hearing or trial or announcing settlement, email is required. … do not attempt to communicate with Judge Dickens unless directed to do so by Judge Dickens or the court administrator at the direction of

Official source: Denton County District Courts — dentoncounty.gov (county site tree)
Source health: Healthy · checked September 9, 2026
Effective date: —
Last verified: September 6, 2026benchpath-tx-ajr8-denton-ownsite-2026-09-06

Reviewer note: Own-site document (text layer, 2 pp, 3,811 chars) read in full 2026-09-06; quoted verbatim; undated; names Judge Dickens throughout. Composed benchpath-ajr8-denton (own-site lane).