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The local rules for the District Courts in McLennan County (effective June 1, 2026), governing the filing and random assignment of civil cases, collateral attacks, ancillary proceedings, consolidation, and district-court practice.
Applies to civil practice before the District Courts of McLennan County. Procedural information only; not legal advice.
Local Rules for the District Courts in McLennan County (Effective Date: 6/1/2026) Rule 1. Civil Cases 1.01 FILING AND ASSIGNMENT OF CASES A. All civil cases, except as otherwise provided herein or by court order, shall be filed in the district courts randomly. B. Notwithstanding Rule 1.01A, no civil cases shall be filed in the 19th or 54th District Courts, and all juvenile cases shall be filed in the 474th District Court. C. If a party dismisses or nonsuits a case and refiles it within one year after dismissal, it will be reassigned to the court in which it was pending at the time of the dismissal of non-suit. 1.02 COLLATERAL ATTACK Every proceeding seeking to attack, avoid, modify, or set aside any judgment, order or decree of a district court of McLennan county (including suits in the nature of a bill of review, writ of habeas corpus, or otherwise) shall be filed and assigned to the court in which such judgment, order, or decree was rendered. 1.03 ANCILLARY PROCEEDINGS Every proceeding ancillary to a civil action shall be assigned to the court in which the proceeding ancillary is pending. 1.04 MOTION TO CONSOLIDATE Every motion to consolidate two or more cases shall be heard in the earliest case filed with notice to the latter filed court, and all parties in each case. 1.05 RELATED CASES Whenever any case filed in a district court is related to another case previously filed in or disposed of by another district court of McLennan county, having subject matter jurisdiction, that a transfer of the latter case to such other court would facilitate orderly and efficient disposition of the litigation, the judge of the court in which the earlier case is or was pending may, upon notice to all affected parties and courts, transfer the latter case to such court. 1.06 CASES SUBJECT TO TRANSFER The following types of cases shall be subject to transfer under Local Rule 1.05: A. Any case arising out of the same transaction or occurrence as an earlier case, particularly if the earlier case was dismissed by plaintiff before final judgment. B. Any case involving a plea that a judgment in the earlier case is conclusive of any of the issues of the latter case by way of res judicata, estoppel by judgment, or any pleading that requires a construction of the earlier judgment, or a determination of its effect. 1.07 TRANSFER OF CASES, DOCKET EXCHANGE, OR BENCH EXCHANGE A. The district judges of McLennan County may exchange benches or hear cases for one another without the necessity of an order. B. A case may be transferred from one court to another having jurisdiction: 1. Upon motion of a party, for good cause shown; 2. In the event the judge is disqualified to hear, or recuses himself or herself from hearing the case; 3. When the case should be transferred in the interest of justice; 4. When at least one common party and substantially similar questions of fact or law appear in each case in two or more courts; 5. By agreement of the court transferring the case, and of the transferee court; or 6. By the Local Administrative Judge to equalize dockets. 1.08 TRANSFER OR APPEAL TO SPECIFIC MCLENNAN COUNTY DISTRICT COURT INEFFECTIVE Whenever a case is transferred to McLennan County by a court of another county, or is appealed, and the order of transfer or the appeal specifies the particular court to which the case is transferred, such specifications shall be disregarded, and the case shall be assigned in the manner provided in Local Rule 1.01. 1.09 TEMPORARY ORDERS Requests for temporary restraining orders or ex-parte protective orders in family law cases may be presented to any available district judge for signature. In all other cases, no application for immediate or temporary relief shall be presented to a judge until the case is filed. 1.10 PRESIDING FOR ANOTHER In all cases where a judge signs an order on behalf of another court, the case shall remain in the original court. 1.11 ANCILLARY PROCEEDINGS, TEMPORARY ORDERS, AND EMERGENCY MATTERS In the event a bona fide emergency exists or a matter requires special attention and the judge of the court where the case is pending is unavailable, the attorney or party seeking relief shall contact any judge who has jurisdiction and the judge can consider the matter, but the case shall remain in the court originally filed. 1.12 SERVICE OF PROCESS A. Cases on the jury docket shall be set on Monday of a jury week, and shall be subject to trial at any time during the week. Jury docket cases shall take priority on those weeks designated for that purpose. B. A case is set on the jury docket by contacting the court administrator of the court in which the case is pending. C. Alternate settings are allowed. Special settings, agreed to by all parties, are subject to approval of the court. D. The attorney setting the case for jury trial shall provide notification of such setting to all other attorneys of record and pro se parties pursuant to the Texas Rules of Civil Procedure, and shall provide the court a copy of such notice. [No section numbered 1.13 appears in the file.] 1.14 JURY DOCKET CALL No later than 9:00 a.m. on Friday morning before the jury trial setting for the following week, it shall be the duty of each counsel to communicate with the court, in person or by telephone, and announce ready or not ready. If an announcement of not ready is to be made, a motion for continuance must be filed and set no later than that Friday morning at 9:00 a.m., unless opposing counsel advises the court that no contest will be made to the motion, or unless the case is passed by agreement of all parties and consent of the court. If counsel does not communicate with the court as hereinabove indicated, the court may treat such failure as any one of the following: (a) an announcement of ready; or (b) an indication of no contest to any opponent’s Motion for Continuance or other announcement. 1.15 PRE-TRIAL CONFERENCE A pre-trial conference pursuant to Rule 166, Texas Rules of Civil Procedure, may be held at the request of the court or of any attorney of record in the case. 1.16 SCHEDULING AND DOCKET CONTROL ORDERS The court may enter scheduling and docket control orders which are submitted by agreement, are made on the court’s own motion, or are the result of a docket control conference. Such order, when entered, shall control the subsequent course of action, unless later modified by the court. 1.17 TIME STANDARDS FOR THE DISPOSITION OF CASES District judges of the county in which cases are filed should, so far as reasonably possible, ensure that all cases brought to trial or final disposition are in conformity with the following time standards: A. Civil Cases Other Than Family Law 1. Civil Jury Cases: Within 18 months from appearance date. 2. Civil Non-Jury Cases: Within 12 months from appearance date. B. Family Law Cases 1. Contested Family Law Cases: Within 6 months from appearance date, or within 6 months from the expiration of the waiting period, provided by the Texas Family Code where such is required, whichever is later. 2. Uncontested Family Law Cases: Within 3 months from appearance date, or within 3 months from the expiration of the waiting period provided by the Texas Family Code where such is required, whichever is later. C. Complex Cases It is recognized that in especially complex cases or special circumstances, it may not be possible to adhere to these standards. 1.18 DISMISSAL FOR WANT OF PROSECUTION A. Procedure The court, on its own motion, may dismiss a case for want of prosecution. The procedure provided in Rule 165a, Texas Rules of Civil Procedure, as amended, shall apply. B. Reasons for Dismissal A case may be dismissed for want of prosecution for any of the following reasons: 1. Failure of a party seeking affirmative relief to take appropriate action when the case has been pending without action for six months. 2. Failure of counsel for a party seeking affirmative relief to appear for a pre-trial or preliminary hearing, particularly if there has been a previous failure to appear, or no motion has been timely filed to meet the exceptions previously sustained. 3. Failure of a party seeking affirmative relief to make an announcement as scheduled when the case has been set for trial. 4. Failure to dispose of the case within the time standards promulgated by these local rules or by the Supreme Court of Texas under Rule 6 of the Rules of Judicial Administration. 1.19 NO LIMITATION ON TEXAS RULES OF CIVIL PROCEDURE These rules shall not be construed as a substitute for, or as any limitation upon, any pre-trial or discovery right or proceeding pursuant to the Texas Rules of Civil Procedure. In cases subject to these local rules, as in other cases, Texas Rules of Civil Procedure pre-trial conference and discovery rules apply. 1.20 RULES OF ADMINISTRATION, THIRD ADMINISTRATIVE JUDICIAL REGION The district courts of McLennan County adopt the Rules of Administration, Third Administrative Judicial Region of Texas, effective September 26, 2000 (or later amended), which are made a part of these Rules. If these local rules conflict with the Rules of Administration, then the latter will prevail. 1.21 USE OF TECHNOLOGY BY LAWYERS AND SELF-REPRESENTED LITIGANTS (“SRL”). If the lawyer, in the exercise of his or her professional legal judgment, believes that the client is best served by the use of AI systems (e.g., ChatGPT, Google Bard, Bing AI Chat, or generative artificial intelligence services), then the lawyer is cautioned that certain AI systems may produce factually or legally inaccurate content and should never replace the lawyer’s most important asset – the exercise of independent legal judgment. If a lawyer chooses to employ AI systems in representing a client, the lawyer continues to be bound by the requirements of Texas Rule of Civil Procedure 13, and all other applicable standards of practice and must review and verify any computer-generated content to ensure that it complies with all such standards. SRLs remain responsible for the accuracy and quality of legal documents produced with the assistance of AI systems (e.g., ChatGPT, Google Bard, Bing AI Chat, or generative artificial intelligence services). SRLs are cautioned that certain AI systems may produce factually or legally inaccurate content. If a SRL chooses to employ AI systems, the SRL continues to be bound by the requirements of Texas Rule of Civil Procedure 13 and must review and verify any computer-generated content to ensure that it complies with all such standards. All SRLs and attorneys who utilize any form of artificial intelligence for legal research, drafting, or analysis in connection with a case before this Court are subject to imposition of sanctions as allowed by law for failure to comply with this Local Rule. Rule 2. Family Cases 2.01 APPLICATION OF RULE 1 All parts of Rule 1 (civil cases) apply to family law cases unless specifically in conflict with a portion of Rule 2. 2.02 SEMINAR FOR PARENTS A. All parties in a suit affecting the parent-child relationship, who are parents of the child the subject of the suit, shall attend and complete a parent education seminar approved by the court in which the suit is pending. B. Each party shall complete the seminar or approved service of equal value within 60 days after the date the respondent parent is served with process or executes a waiver of citation in the case, and prior to a final hearing on the merits of the case. C. All parties required by paragraph A herein to attend a parent education course shall file with the court a certificate verifying the party’s attendance at such course. The certificate shall be filed no later than the date the case is set for final hearing. D. Each party is responsible for payment of the appropriate fee. E. For good cause shown, the court may waive the requirement of completion of the seminar. 2.03 TEMPORARY HEARINGS SCHEDULING AND TIME LIMITS All temporary hearings shall be set on a date and at a time scheduled by the Court. At the time set for the temporary hearing, counsel shall make an announcement of the estimate of time required to present the case. In all temporary matters, including a modification of a temporary order, the court shall determine the amount of time that shall be allotted for the hearing. 2.04 NOTICE OF SETTING FOR FINAL HEARING Notice of all first settings for final hearing or trial shall be pursuant to Rule 245 of the Texas Rules of Civil Procedure (i.e. 45-days’ notice). 2.05 INVENTORY AND APPRAISEMENT In cases involving an appreciable amount of property in dispute, counsel for each party shall prepare a sworn list of property involved with estimates of value noted thereon. A copy of the list shall be presented to opposing counsel at least seven (7) days before trial, and to the court prior to any testimony being offered. Either party may invoke this rule by letter to the opposing counsel at least 21 days prior to final hearing. The parties may agree or request the court for an earlier date to exchange inventories. At final hearing, the court shall be furnished a copy of each party’s inventory. 2.06 MEDIATION A. In cases brought under the Family Code, mediation is required before all final orders hearings lasting two (2) hours or longer. Failure to mediate may not be used as an excuse to avoid a final orders hearing. Exceptions may be made in certain cases. Parties seeking an exception must file a verified motion with a certificate of conference. Failure to mediate before trial may result in imposition of sanctions, as permitted by law. B. In all other civil cases, the parties are encouraged to settle their disputes amicably without Court intervention. The parties are encouraged to use alternative dispute resolution methods, such as mediation, to resolve the conflicts that may arise in this lawsuit. [signatures on following page] [signature] Judge Susan Kelly, 54th Judicial District Court [signature] Judge Thomas West, 19th Judicial District Court [signature] Judge Peter Rusek, 74th Judicial District Court [signature] Judge Gina Long, 170th Judicial District Court [signature] Judge Ryan Luna, 414th Judicial District Court [signature] Judge Alan Bennett, 474th Judicial District Court [Footer on each page: Local Rules for the District Courts of McLennan County, Texas, Page N]
Local Rules for the District Courts in McLennan County (Effective Date: 6/1/2026) Rule 1. Civil Cases 1.01 FILING AND ASSIGNMENT OF CASES A. All civil cases, except as otherwise provided herein or by court order, shall be filed in the district courts randomly. B. Notwithstanding Rule 1.01A, no civil cases shall be filed in the 19th or 54th District Courts, and all juvenile cases shall be filed in
Reviewer note: Composed 2026-09-06 from the TOPICs custody scan (image-only PDF read through the vision lane; 9-page rule). County-wide McLennan District Court local rules; bound to McLennan County. [TRANSCRIBED BY EYE 2026-09-21 (corpus-0920 P12): every page of the registered file (sha256 bac4fa867a65..., 9 page(s), image-only scan; the OCR layer used as a typing base and corrected word by word from the page) read against the rendered file; verbatim, source typos kept, stamps/signatures bracketed; the earlier abstract replaced by the full instrument; confidence high. benchpath-tx-corpus0920-p12-2026-09-21]
Division XI: information forms for data processing (Rule 11.2); required action - action taken on all calendared cases and a future date always set (Rule 11.19); and pro tem judges - an attorney named as a plaintiff in a civil or small claims case may not sit as a judge pro-tem during the case or within six months following its resolution, nor one named as a defendant in two or more such cases (Rule 11.22). Rules 11.1, 11.3 to 11.5, 11.7 to 11.18, 11.20 and 11.21 are repealed, and Rule 11.6 (voluntary arbitration; see Local Rule 10.2) was repealed and renumbered.
Duval County's indigent-defense and magistration rules under the Texas Fair Defense Act (S.B. 7): who may be booked into the county jail and on what paper; arrest-case numbering; presentment to a magistrate within 48 hours (art. 15.16); the magistrate's warnings, counsel inquiry, interpreter duty, indigence determination and appointment of counsel within 24 hours of a request; the alternative appointment plan under art. 26.04(g)-(h) with annual applications, seven attorney categories (capital, first and second degree, third degree/state jail/misdemeanor, competency, appeals, post-conviction, extradition), CLE and experience standards, random rotation within each category, written acceptance within 48 hours, first contact by the end of the next working day, replacement and suspension of counsel, fee applications within five days of completing services and the compensation attachment ($500 pleas; $175/$150 hourly; $1,400 per jury-trial day; appellate caps); bail schedules by offense class with a personal bond office (fee $20 or 3%), pre-trial supervision and revocation hearings within two working days; arraignment settings and notice; repeal of conflicting rules.