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The county-wide local rules of procedure and decorum for the four Washington County Justice of the Peace courts (as required by Texas H.B. 79; eff. Jan. 1, 2012, revised May 1, 2026; Judges Zwiener, Johnson, Houston, Riddle): general procedure and decorum, civil and criminal practice, and case management. Operative provisions include that (except continuance motions on new circumstances) all motions in limine, exceptions, pretrial motions, and pleas in a jury case are presented and heard at the pretrial hearing or deemed waived absent good cause, while non-jury exceptions/motions/pleas are filed three court business days before trial; agreed civil judgments require a notarized or in-person defendant signature (or attorney under power of attorney) — a rule in effect only for Justice Court #1; telephone hearings at the presiding judge's sole discretion on a written request at least seven court business days ahead (the requesting party arranges and bears the cost, and the court never incurs conference-call expense); and dismissal for want of prosecution sua sponte, with the citation serving as notice that failure to appear may result in dismissal.
Texas > Washington County > all four Justice of the Peace precincts (county-wide JP rules; the Precinct 4 court also has its own precinct rules, TOPICs doc 2595). Note Rule 2.7 applies only to Justice Court #1.
Pretrial: "Except for motions for continuance based on new circumstances, all motions in limine, exceptions, and all pre-trial motions and pleas in each jury case shall be presented and heard at pre-trial hearing. All such exceptions, motions, and pleas not presented and heard at scheduled pre-trial hearings will be deemed waived, except upon a showing of good cause. For non-jury cases all exceptions, motions and pleas must be filed three court business days before the scheduled trial." 2.7 Agreed Civil Judgments: "The defendant in a Civil Case that agrees to an Agreed Judgment must have their signature notarized or signed in person at Court or by their Attorney under Power of Attorney. This Rule is only in effect for Justice Court #1." 2.9 Telephone hearings: "At the sole discretion of the presiding judge, a party or attorney may appear by telephone conference call. A request... must be made in writing at least seven court business days in advance... A judge will not initiate or provide equipment for a conference call... the court shall never incur the burden of any expense." 2.10 Dismissal for Want of Prosecution: "All cases are eligible for dismissal for want of prosecution sua sponte by the Court"; the clerk may give written notice and matters are dismissed on the noticed date unless retained. RULE 5 (Adoption/Amendment): rules are adopted or amended by the justices and published through the Office of Court Administration website. Effective January 1, 2012; revised May 1, 2026 (Judges Zwiener, Johnson, Houston, Riddle).
Reviewer note: Image-only registration (10 pages) read through the vision lane across the cover and operative pages; key provisions quoted verbatim. Effective 2012, revised May 1, 2026; signed by JPs Zwiener, Johnson, Houston, Riddle. Composed benchpath-ajr2-quad.
Establishes a Traffic Violations Bureau within the Clerk of the County Court under Fla. R. Traf. Ct. 6.100(a) (Burnstein, C.J., Nov. 1, 1988).
Approves the National Highway Safety Council Defensive Driving course as a school to which traffic courts may require attendance (Fla. R. Traf. Ct. 6.110(a)).
Designates the D.W.I. Counterattack School (Broward County Commission on Alcoholism) as an approved school for court-ordered attendance (Fla. R. Traf. Ct. 6.110(a)).