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Court 8 Policies & Procedures — County Criminal Court at Law No. 8 — posted on the court's own website — the court-procedure tier (standing procedures, policies, and preferences the court itself publishes), distinct from the TOPICs-registered local-rules tier (TRCP 3a registration applies to local rules). Operative requirements quoted verbatim; the posted document is the controlling text.
Texas > Harris County > County Criminal Court at Law No. 8
COURT 8 POLICIES & PROCEDURES I.COURTROOM DECORUM All parties are expected to show respect for each other and the Court. Request permission to approach the bench and witnesses. Do not interrupt opposing counsel or witnesses. Address the witness as “Mr.,” “Ms.,”, or “Mx.” Any electronic communication to the Court staff should be respectful, as if it were in person. II. DAILY DOCKET Docket is held Monday through Friday and begins at 9am. ZOOM The Court’s zoom link is open every day from 9-10am, and is only open to Attorneys. Zoom is ONLY allowed for discovery issues and emergencies. If clients are present in court or in custody, Attorneys MUST be present as well and are NOT allowed to appear via zoom. No pleas allowed over zoom. WAIVER OF APPEARANCE Upon request by Counsel, a client’s appearance can be waived for a regular setting, but the client must be present for bond violations, hearings and pleas. CASES OVER 200 DAYS OLD All attorneys must approach on cases over 200 days old ASSAULT FAMILY MEMBER CASES All attorneys must approach the bench once their assault family member case is over 100 days old PRETRIAL INTERVENTION Clients who agree to enter the PTI program must do so before the case is 250 days old. If a client does not automatically qualify for PTI, and the Attorney wishes to submit a mitigation packet, it must be done before the case is 180 days old OFF DOCKET MATTERS The Court will only consider off-docket matters AFTER 11am. If you are asking the Judge to sign an order, please first provide the Clerk the cause number for the case. WALK THROUGH ARRAIGNMENTS Attorneys must first approach the Court to get approval to see if the Court will allow a walk-through. If approved, be prepared to have a bondsman appear. WITHDRAW AS COUNSEL Attorneys must approach on all Motions. The Motions will not be signed before the Client’s court date. III. TRIAL Defendants must be present in court before a case is set for trial. Trials are set every Tuesday. The court holds pretrial conferences the Friday before the trial date. Jury selection will begin Tuesday after docket/lunch. Continuances should be filed early, but in any event at least 24 hours before the docket call for the case. Generally, the Court will allow one timely asserted continuance. After that, the Court requires a reasonable explanation for the request that takes into consideration the current age and status of the case. The Court will not accept pleas on trial day.
Reviewer note: Own-site content fetched by us 2026-08-22 (Phase 3 justex/page sweep; hashed receipts in custody). Complete document text quoted verbatim (whitespace-normalized); the posted document is the controlling text.
1 verbatim requirement on judge preferences.
20 verbatim requirements on judge preferences.