Northern District of Texas Chambers Communication Rules
8 rules from official source documents
Rules for contacting chambers: permitted methods, hours, and purposes. This page is scoped to Northern District of Texas; use the court rules overview to switch categories without leaving this court.
Hearing/conference requests must be preceded by consultation with opposing counsel and include notice if no agreement was reached.
Source text: Judge Brown will consider written requests for hearings or conferences with the Court provided they are made after conferencing with opposing counsel to attempt to reach agreement as to proposed hearing dates and times. If agreement has not been reached, the party seeking the hearing or conference should so notify the Court in their written request and copy opposing counsel with the request.
Do not contact Judge Brown or her law clerks
Source text: C. Do not make any inquiries to Judge Brown or her law clerks.
Motion and case status inquiries must be in writing
Source text: D. Inquiries about motions and the case status should be in writing.
Do not call to inquire about pending motion status.
Source text: Please do not call to inquire about the status of a pending motion.
Contact Cynthia Thornton for civil case management inquiries
Source text: A. For civil case management, telephone or e-mail inquiries should be made to Cynthia Thornton, 214-753-2343, cynthia_thornton@txnd.uscourts.gov.
Contact Lisa Matz for criminal case management inquiries
Source text: B. For criminal case management, telephone or e-mail inquires should be made to Lisa Matz, 214-753-2683, lisa_matz@txnd.uscourts.gov.
Emergency calls to court require good faith attempt to include opposing counsel and leaving detailed message.
Source text: If you have a bonafide emergency situation of which the Court should be aware, please make a good faith attempt to include opposing counsel on the call. Leave a message explaining the situation. Leave your name and the name of the party you are represent along with the case number, and the Court will respond to your emergency as soon as possible.
Notify court by letter/email of serious settlement discussions; court will postpone pending motions.
Source text: Notify the Court by letter or email whenever serious settlement discussions are underway. The Court will postpone consideration of pending motions until advised of success or impasse.
How may parties contact Northern District of Texas?
Parties may contact the court by letter ecf only as allowed by the rule. Hearing/conference requests must be preceded by consultation with opposing counsel and include notice if no agreement was reached.
How may parties contact Northern District of Texas?
Parties may contact the court by letter ecf only as allowed by the rule. Notify court by letter/email of serious settlement discussions; court will postpone pending motions.
Related categories
Back to all rules for this courtPage & Word Limits
Maximum page counts and word limits for motions, briefs, and other filings by judge.
Courtesy Copy Requirements
When and how to deliver courtesy copies to chambers, including triggers, timing, and formatting.
Electronic Filing Rules
Electronic filing requirements, permitted filing channels, EFSP portals, and exceptions.
Filing Timing and Cure Windows
Filing cutoffs, deemed-filed rules, rejection handling, cure periods, and outage procedures.