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Rules of administration adopted by the four Tom Green County justices of the peace under Government Code section 27.061: hours and places of court; disposition targets for civil cases (jury cases within 18 months and non-jury cases within 12 months of the appearance date) and an annual dismissal docket; transfer of civil and criminal cases between precincts by written order with the consent of the judges involved; exchange of benches; the form for a Sworn Statement of Inability to Pay; fair venue changes; and monthly judicial meetings.
Texas > Seventh Administrative Judicial Region > Tom Green County > Justice of the Peace Courts, Precincts 1-4.
Rules of Administration Tom Green County Justices of the Peace Subchapter C, Chapter 27, Government Code, Section 27.061. RULES OF ADMINISTRATON. The justices of the peace in each county shall, by majority vote, adopt local rules of administration. The rules are promulgated to provide a uniform system for the fair, impartial, and prompt dispositions of matters before the justice courts of Tom Green County, Texas. These rules were accepted unanimously on 13 January 2023. RULES OF ADMINISTRATION FOR JUSTICE OF THE PEACE COURTS WITHIN TOM GREEN COUNTY, TEXAS WHEREAS, there are four justice of the peace courts within Tom Green County, Texas; and WHEREAS, rules of administration and uniform rules of practice and procedure are necessary for the efficient and effective administration of justice; NOW, THEREFORE, the following rules of administration and procedure are adopted by the justice of the peace courts of Tom Green County, Texas. RULES OF ADMINISTRATION RULE 1.0 HOURS AND PLACES FOR HOLDING COURT: RULE 1.1 Court shall be held at such times as may be determined expedient by the justice of the peace of each court. RULE 1.2 Court shall be held at a courtroom in Tom Green County, Texas in each justice of the peace designated court or in a location deemed necessary by the justice of the peace to carry out the responsibilities of the court. RULE 2.0 DISPOSITION OF CIVIL CASES: Each justice of the peace should set the docket to ensure civil jury cases are concluded within eighteen (18) months from appearance date, and civil non-jury cases are concluded within twelve (12) months from appearance date, subject to a continuance or pass. RULE 2.1 DISMISSAL DOCKET: At least once a year, each Court should set appropriate cases on a dismissal docket that have not had any action in the previous 365 days or at the discretion of the judge. RULE 3.0 TRANSFER OF CASES AMONG COURTS: RULE 3.1 TRANSFER OF CIVIL CASES: 3.1.1 In accordance with Section 15.0821 of the Texas Civil Practice and Remedies Code, regarding “Administrative Rules for Transfer,” the justices of the peace in each county shall, by majority vote, adopt local rules of administration regarding the transfer of a pending case from one precinct to a different precinct. 3.1.2 Any judge of a justice of the peace court in Tom Green County, Texas may act as the judge of any other justice of the peace court in Tom Green County, Texas. 3.1.3 The transfer of cases between justice of the peace courts of Tom Green County, Texas may be done by written order upon consent of the judges of those courts participating in the transfer and will transfer electronically by the software systems used by Tom Green County, Texas. 3.1.4 Standard procedures of transferring cases will be maintained and updated as software allows as distributed by the administrative judge or his designee. 3.2 TRANSFER OF CRIMINAL CASES: 3.2.1 Pursuant to Article 4.12(e) of the Texas Code of Criminal Procedure, the justices of the peace in each county shall, by majority vote, adopt local rules of administration regarding the transfer of a pending misdemeanor case from one precinct to a different precinct. 3.2.2 Any judge of a justice of the peace court in Tom Green County, Texas may act as the judge of any other justice of the peace court in Tom Green County, Texas. 3.2.3 The transfer of cases between justice of the peace courts of Tom Green County, Texas may be done by written order upon consent of the judges of those courts participating in the transfer and will transfer electronically by the software systems used by Tom Green County, Texas. 3.2.4 Standard procedures of transferring cases will be maintained and updated as software allows as distributed by the administrative judge or his designee. RULE 4.0 EXCHANGE OF BENCHES: 4.1 In accordance with Texas Rules of Civil Procedure 502.4(f), upon agreement, justices of the peace may exchange benches to hold court and administer justice. 4.2 The docket of each case heard by the visiting judge will reflect the visiting judge’s name. 4.3 The judge requesting the exchange shall initiate the transfer order and ensure it is signed by both judges prior to the adjudication of any cases. RULE 5.0 INABILTY TO PAY: The justices of the peace shall create and agree by a majority vote on the form required for Sworn Statement of Inability to Pay, also known as SSIP, as described in Texas Rules of Civil Procedure 502.3, 506.1(d), 510.9(c). RULE 6.0 FAIR VENUE CHANGE: 6.1 Pursuant to Texas Rules of Civil Procedure 502.4(e), if a party believes it cannot get a fair trial and provides the required documentation to seek a fair venue change, the judge receiving the order will follow the requirements in this rule to secure the appropriate remedy. 6.2 The Fair Venue Change order and assignment from the Tom Green County Judge, if applicable, shall be annotated in the docket. RULE 7.0 JUDICIAL MEETINGS: 7.1 The justices of the peace will meet at 11:30 a.m. on the second Friday of each month. RULE 8.0 EACH COURT MAY ADOPT SUCH OTHER RULES NOT IN CONFLICT WITH THESE RULES OF ADMINISTRATION, TOM GREEN COUNTY POLICY, STATE LAWS, OR FEDERAL LAWS AS MAY BE DEEMED NECESSARY BY THE JUDGE OF THAT COURT FOR THE EFFICIENT ADMINISTRATION OF JUSTICE. 8.1 These rules shall be reviewed and approved by majority vote of the justices of the peace in Tom Green County, Texas in January of the year beginning a new term of office. 8.2 These rules do not supersede statutory requirements, and all justices of the peace shall follow statutory laws as well as the Code of Judicial Conduct. Approved this 7 day of May, 2025: [signature] Judge Susan Werner Justice of the Peace Precinct 1 [signature] Judge Tom Daniel Justice of the Peace Precinct 2 [signature] Judge Stacye Speck Justice of the Peace Precinct 3 [signature] Judge Randy Harris Justice of the Peace Precinct 4
Rules of Administration Tom Green County Justices of the Peace Subchapter C, Chapter 27, Government Code, Section 27.061. RULES OF ADMINISTRATON. The justices of the peace in each county shall, by majority vote, adopt local rules of administration. The rules are promulgated to provide a uniform system for the fair, impartial, and prompt dispositions of matters before the justice courts of Tom Gre
Reviewer note: Composed 2026-09-24 (AJR-7 Seventh Region build) from BenchPath custody sources/documents/afa1d659b349fe03-rules-of-administraton.pdf (application/pdf, 186765 bytes, sha256 afa1d659b349fe031c1a93b2d33fb7d314f036c62d8eb5ff57f15d41ac73bfc0; 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. Source misspellings kept as printed: "ADMINISTRATON", "INABILTY". The rules recite that they were accepted unanimously on 13 January 2023.