Ector County District Courts Filing Rules

Electronic filing became mandatory in the Supreme Court of Texas and in civil cases in courts of appeals effective January 1, 2014.

The proposed order setting an agreed civil hearing must be electronically filed.

A motion or request for a civil hearing must be filed electronically.

All divorces, annulments, and suits affecting the parent-child relationship must be reported through the court clerk to the State Vital Statistics Unit.

A criminal proposed continuance order must identify the type of hearing for which the continuance is requested.

Documents submitted to the judge must be complete and include all required signatures.

When the parties agree to a civil continuance, they must file the agreed motion and submit an agreed order for the judge's approval.

Each appointed attorney must provide written evidence of compliance with 10 hours of criminal law and/or criminal procedure CLE to the Court Coordinator of the 358th District Court by the applicable State Bar annual CLE reporting deadline.

A filing returned for insufficient fees must be resubmitted with the correct case type or filing type.

An e-filed document must be a text-searchable PDF using specified PDF fonts, sized 8.5x11, with appropriately rotated content.

Email communications directed to the Court or court personnel must comply with the cited procedural and judicial-conduct rules.

A transcript request should be submitted by email or telephone with the cause number, case style, and hearing date.

Request possible hearing dates by emailing the Court Coordinator with all parties copied.

Mandatory electronic filing begins July 1, 2018, in criminal cases in courts in counties with populations from 100,000 through 199,999.

Counsel for the State and defendant must notify the court of negotiated plea-agreement terms by 5:00 p.m. on the Thursday before jury selection, absent extraordinary circumstances.

All pretrial motions must be filed and brought to the Court's attention by the Motion Deadline date on the trial docket.

A civil hearing will not be continued unless a timely, properly filed motion for continuance complies with the cited procedural rules.

A court or clerk unable to comply by the implementation date may petition the Court of Criminal Appeals for an extension showing good cause.

A criminal hearing will not be continued absent a timely, properly filed motion for continuance complying with Chapter 29 of the Texas Code of Criminal Procedure.

A continuance will not be granted for a final hearing set from a dismissal docket.

Copies must be provided to each party or represented party’s attorney on the same day the document is filed with the court.

The District Clerk must promptly seal and maintain as confidential all qualifying written mental health reports, assessments, and evaluations filed in Ector County felony criminal cases.

Both parties must confer before contacting the court about a civil continuance.

Lead documents must be filed as separate PDF documents rather than combined into one PDF.