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The county-wide Local Rules for the Justice of the Peace Courts of Tarrant County (effective Jan. 1, 2012, promulgated under Gov't Code § 27.061; posted on the county's Justice Courts document page): courtroom conduct and decorum defaults where a precinct has no written code of its own; attorney conduct; broadcast requests decided case by case; the civil, criminal, administrative and magistration jurisdiction map with the governing statutes; telephone hearings on advance written request (the judge never initiates the call); drafting rules for judgments and orders; motions to withdraw granted without hearing only with client and opposing consents and a last-known-address certificate; civil and criminal transfers between precincts at the judges' discretion (10 days for a defendant to object in criminal cases); criminal filing venue by precinct of offense (school-attendance cases anywhere in the county), docket call and setting practice with 24-hour reset requests, written jury waivers, clerk-set pretrial dockets, and standard fine lists.
Texas > Tarrant County > all eight Justice of the Peace courts — civil (small claims, justice, eviction), criminal (fine-only) and administrative dockets; a precinct's own published dress/conduct code displaces Part I.A. Statutory cross-references are as printed in 2012 (pre-2013 TRCP Part V renumbering).
Scope: "These rules govern cases filed in the Justice Courts of Tarrant County, Texas. They are promulgated pursuant to Section 27.061 of the Texas Government Code, and in accordance with Chapters 27 and 28 of the Texas Government Code." I.A General Rules of Courtroom Conduct/Decorum ("These General Rules apply, unless the individual Justice of the Peace Court has its own dress/conduct code published in writing"): "In the courtrooms there shall be: (a) No tobacco used; (b) No chewing gum; (c) No shorts or excessively short pants, exposed cleavage or bare midriffs; (d) No pants below the waistline and shirt tails must be tucked in. (e) No reading of newspapers; (f) No cell phones or pagers in use; (g) No bottles, cups or beverage containers except court water …; (h) No edibles; (i) No propping of feet on tables or chairs; (j) No noise or talking that interferes with court proceedings." I.B Attorneys: objections directed to the judge or jury, no approaching the bench without leave, remain seated except when addressing the court or handling exhibits, advance arrangements for equipment. I.C: "Requests to broadcast court proceedings shall be determined by each Judge on a case by case assessment after consultation with all the parties to a case." II.E.10 Hearings Conducted by Telephone: "(a) At the discretion of the judge, a party or attorney may appear by telephone conference call. A request by a party for such an arrangement must be made in advance, and in writing. In rare cases in the interest of justice, the court may permit a witness to appear by telephone conference call … (b) A judge will not initiate a conference call. All arrangements with telephone operators must be made by the requesting party. (c) At any time, even after the completion of a conference call, a judge may determine that a hearing by telephone will not be sufficient and may require a hearing in court upon notice to all parties." II.E.11 Drafts of Judgments and Orders: drafts "should be approved as to form by attorneys for all parties before it is presented to the judge"; "A draft of an order shall not be typed on the same page with a pleading, motion, certificate of service, or any part thereof"; the word "entered" is not used above the signature line. II.E.12 Motions to Withdraw: granted without a hearing only if the attorney "(1) Files written consents to the withdrawal signed by attorneys for all parties; and, (2) Files a written consent to the withdrawal signed by the client, or includes in the motion a specific statement of the circumstances …; and, (3) Files a certificate stating the last known mailing address of the client" — otherwise presented at a hearing after notice. II.E.13 Transfer of Civil Cases: a justice court "may transfer a pending civil case to another Justice of the Peace Court in Tarrant County, provided that the receiving Judge has no objection"; "The parties lack standing to contest or request the transfer." II.E.14: dates falling on a court holiday move to the next day. III.B Criminal Cases: "(a) Justice Court cases shall be filed in the precinct where the offense is alleged to have occurred, except for cases involving school attendance, which may be filed in any precinct in the county." First appearance per the citation; "If the defendant waives jury at the docket call, a written waiver, signed by counsel and/or defendant must be presented." "Attorneys or defendants may request reset of cases no later than 24-hours before the current setting in accordance with court rules." Clerks may set pretrial dockets; "All pretrial hearings will be held on the day set unless a written State or Defense motion for continuance is granted." Trial by judge only where both sides intend to waive jury; jury settings require an announcement of ready or a written motion for continuance; "Each Justice Court shall maintain a list of 'standard' fines for various offenses." Indigent defendants have no right to appointed counsel in fine-only cases. Motions to withdraw heard on notice by certified mail; substitutions granted without hearing if trial is not delayed. Criminal transfers between precincts with the receiving judge's consent; "The defendant has 10 days to object in writing to the transfer."
Scope: "These rules govern cases filed in the Justice Courts of Tarrant County, Texas. They are promulgated pursuant to Section 27.061 of the Texas Government Code, and in accordance with Chapters 27 and 28 of the Texas Government Code." I.A General Rules of Courtroom Conduct/Decorum ("These General Rules apply, unless the individual Justice of the Peace Court has its own dress/conduct code publis
Reviewer note: Own-site instrument (not in the TOPICs registry): 13-page text-layer PDF (16,856 chars) read in full 2026-09-06; operative provisions quoted verbatim; the statutory-reference sections summarized. The county still posts it on the Justice Courts document page alongside the 2015 discovery rules and the precinct rules composed from the registry. Composed benchpath-ajr8-tarrant (own-site lane).