Procedures & Rules of Practice in the 502nd District Court

High confidence· verified August 23, 2026Local RulesFort Bend County, Procedures & Rules of Practice in the 502nd District Court (fortbendcountytx.gov, posted document)

Summary

Procedures & Rules of Practice in the 502nd District Court — Fort Bend County. The operative requirements are quoted verbatim from the governing document (registered/posted 2026 (posted)); the document in custody is the controlling text.

Applies to

Texas > Fort Bend County > 502nd District Court

Requirement

Cell phones are permitted but must be placed on silence. … Attorneys are required to e-file a notice of submission without the necessity of an appearance and serve on parties. … ALL requests for trial continuances (whether agreed, unopposed or opposed) MUST state what number continuance motion is being filed (i.e. “Plaintiff’s First” or “Defendant’s Second” or “Third Agreed” etc.) and provide the basis for why the continuance is being sought. … An agreed or joint motion for continuance of a trial setting must contain a certificate that each party to the case consents to the continuance. … The party wishing to appear by telephone must notify the Court Coordinator and other parties and set up the call. … Attorneys requesting the virtual hearing must notify the court two weeks in advance of the setting to have the links prepared and emailed to parties. … A notice of virtual hearing is required to be e-filed and served on parties. … Any objection to a virtual hearing must be made within a reasonable time to allow opposing parties to make arrangements to appear in person. … An attorney’s signature block on any pleading must contain the email address at which the attorney wishes to receive communications from the Court. … As with any other communication, copies shall be sent to all other parties. … DO NOT TELEPHONE THE COURT COORDINATOR FOR ANSWERS TO QUESTIONS! All communications with the Court must be by email. … Mediation is required prior to final trial on merits - All parties are required to attend mediation before a final trial on the merits. … A certificate of mediation settlement/or inability to settle at mediation signed by the mediator must be filed with the clerk prior to a trial on the merits. … Court appointed attorneys will not be paid for their appearance if they do not comply with this rule and repeated violations will result in the removal of the offending attorney from the appointment list. … Appearances are required at the docket to avoid any bond forfeitures or revocations. … Any attempts to communicate facts to the jury or to suggest answers to a witness through the guise of objection will not be tolerated.

Source of truth

Official source: Fort Bend County District Courts — fortbendcountytx.gov (county site tree)
Source health: Healthy · checked October 22, 2026
Effective date: —
Last verified: August 23, 2026benchpath-ajr11-p6-2026-08-23

Reviewer note: Operative mandatory-language provisions quoted verbatim from the posted document; the full document (sha256 1162cfd6b59c…) is the controlling text. Own-site channel only — the 502nd (the county's newest district court) has no TOPICs registration yet; the posted document is the controlling text.

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