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Standing order of the Lubbock County district courts and county courts at law: affidavits, court reports and other documents filed in suits brought by the Department of Family and Protective Services under Family Code chapters 261, 262 and 264 are confidential and kept so by the District Clerk, who allows access only to the court, associate judges, DFPS, the parties and their attorneys, attorneys and guardians ad litem, CASA and the other persons the order lists; anyone else requests access with the form attached as Exhibit "A" (printed with the order).
Texas > Ninth Administrative Judicial Region > Lubbock County > District Courts and County Courts at Law.
[File stamp: FILED FOR RECORD, DISTRICT CLERK LUBBOCK CO., BY [initials] DEPUTY, 2025 APR 25 PM 4: 0_, [signature]; printed sideways in the right margin; the word DEPUTY is faint, and the last digit of the time is split by the title's underline (it appears to read 6)] IN THE DISTRICT AND COUNTY COURT-AT-LAW COURTS OF LUBBOCK COUNTY, TEXAS STANDING ORDER ESTABLISHING CONFIDENTIALITY OF DFPS COURT RECORDS On the 8 day of APRIL, 2025, the Court considered the following and issues findings and orders related to pleadings, orders, and documents filed in a suit brought by the Department of Family and Protective Services, (hereinafter referred to as "DFPS") pursuant to Chapters 261, 262, and 264 of the Texas Family Code. The Court finds that the Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act (CAPTA) requires that states preserve the confidentiality of all child abuse and neglect reports and records to protect the rights of the child and the child’s parents or guardians. 42 U.S.C.A. 5106a(b)(2)(B)(viii). The Court finds that CAPTA provides for the use of discretion in allowing public access to court proceedings involving child and abuse cases, provided that the State, “at a minimum, ensure(s) the safety and well-being of the child, parent, and families.” 42 U.S.C.A. 5106a(b)(2). The Court finds that the plain language of Texas Family Code 261.201 deems DFPS records of abuse or neglect to be confidential and not subject to public release absent a court order following an in-camera inspection and a finding of necessity. The Court finds that the affidavits, court reports, and other documents contain sensitive information regarding children who have been or may have been abused or neglected by parties responsible for their care. The Court finds that these affidavits, court reports, and other documents contain sensitive information regarding family members, specifically regarding the parents of the children who may be alleged perpetrators of abuse or neglect. The Court finds that because of the sensitive information contained within these affidavits, court reports, and other documents, it is necessary to restrict access to these pleadings, orders, and documents. The Court finds that restricting access to these affidavits, court reports, and other documents would protect the privacy rights of both children and other family members, including the parents of the children. The Court further finds that it has authority to control access to court file records. IT IS THEREFORE ORDERED that access to affidavits, court reports, and other documents filed in a suit brought by DFPS pursuant to Chapters 261, 262, and 264 of the Texas Family Code are CONFIDENTIAL and shall be maintained by the District Clerk of Lubbock County as such. The Clerk of the Court shall allow access to these pleadings, orders, and documents to the court, an associate judge, DFPS employees, employees of a Single Source Continuum Contractor (SSCC) acting as an authorized agent of DFPS, a party, a party’s attorney, any attorney ad litem or guardian ad litem for the child, and the Office of the Attorney General. Any other person or entity requesting access to a confidential case file subject to this standing order may submit a request to the Court using the form attached as Exhibit “A”. Nothing in this standing order prohibits the use of electronic filing as mandated by TRCP 21(f). The Clerk is directed to: a. Submit a copy of this order to the Office of Court Administration’s Local Rules, Forms and Standing Orders website. SIGNED this 8 day of APRIL, 2025. [signature] Douglas Freitag, Judge Presiding 140th District Court & Local Administrative Judge [signature] John Grace, Judge Presiding 72nd District Court [signature] Phillip Hays, Judge Presiding 99th District Court [signature] John (Trey) McClendon, III, Judge Presiding 137th District Court [signature] Les Hatch, Judge Presiding 237th District Court [signature] William R. Eichman, II, Judge Presiding 364th District Court [signature] Mark Hocker, Judge Presiding County Court-at-Law #1 [signature] Tom Brummett, Judge Presiding County Court-at-Law #2 [signature] Ben Webb, Judge Presiding County Court-at-Law #3 IN THE DISTRICT COURT OF ________COUNTY, TEXAS ________ JUDICIAL DISTRICT IN THE COUNTY COURT OF LAW NO. ________ ________COUNTY, TEXAS REQUEST FOR ACCESS TO CONFIDENTIAL DFPS COURT RECORDS 1. CAUSE NUMBER: ________ 2. NAME OF REQUESTOR AND AGENCY NAME AS APPLICABLE: ________ 3. ADDRESS OF REQEUSTOR: ________ 4. EMAIL ADDRESS OF REQUESTOR: ________ 5. TELEPHONE NUMBER OF REQUESTOR: ________ 6. REASON FOR REQUEST: ________ SIGNATURE OF REQUESTOR: ________ DATE SIGNED: ________ COURT REVIEW OF REQEUST APPROVED: ________ DENIED: ________ SIGNATURE OF COURT: ________ DATE SIGNED: ________
[File stamp: FILED FOR RECORD, DISTRICT CLERK LUBBOCK CO., BY [initials] DEPUTY, 2025 APR 25 PM 4: 0_, [signature]; printed sideways in the right margin; the word DEPUTY is faint, and the last digit of the time is split by the title's underline (it appears to read 6)] IN THE DISTRICT AND COUNTY COURT-AT-LAW COURTS OF LUBBOCK COUNTY, TEXAS STANDING ORDER ESTABLISHING CONFIDENTIALITY OF DFPS COUR
Reviewer note: Composed 2026-09-25 (AJR-9 Ninth Region build) from BenchPath custody probe/topics9/2388.pdf (application/pdf, 694867 bytes, sha256 776b11590d30cf0b28195331ee3de1c12c346cb8ddeb5a55a0f46036c768c7f4; 3 pages) - the TOPICs-registered document: transcribed from the rendered pages of the scanned PDF (the machine OCR layer was not relied on), every page read against the render; signature, seal and file-stamp blocks bracketed. Printed slips on the request form ("REQEUSTOR", "REQEUST", "COUNTY COURT OF LAW NO.") are kept as printed.
Standing order of the 109th Judicial District Court for every pending or later-filed case in Andrews, Winkler and Crane Counties: any attorney or self-represented litigant who uses any form of artificial intelligence for legal research or drafting in a case must, before using AI-generated information in a court submission or proceeding, sign and submit the court's certification form stating that all language, quotations, sources, citations, arguments and legal analysis created or contributed to by generative AI were verified as accurate by a human through traditional (non-AI) legal sources, and acknowledging responsibility and potential sanctions for their or their co-counsel's failure to comply. Effective immediately; in effect until rescinded or replaced.
Standing order of the 109th Judicial District Court for every pending or later-filed case in Andrews, Winkler and Crane Counties: any attorney or self-represented litigant who uses any form of artificial intelligence for legal research or drafting in a case must, before using AI-generated information in a court submission or proceeding, sign and submit the court's certification form stating that all language, quotations, sources, citations, arguments and legal analysis created or contributed to by generative AI were verified as accurate by a human through traditional (non-AI) legal sources, and acknowledging responsibility and potential sanctions for their or their co-counsel's failure to comply. Effective immediately; in effect until rescinded or replaced.