Harris County Courts at Law Sealing & Redaction Procedures

Criminal cases

Until the separate-page plan is implemented, confidential bond filings may be accessed only by the person or attorney of record, a party entity, or as authorized for good cause by a presiding judge.

Until such time, no person or entity is permitted to access confidenti al bond filin gs unl ess such person or attorney ofrecord , or entity is party to the acti o n or fo r good cause shown, as determined by a pres iding judge of a Harri s County Criminal Court at Law.

Criminal cases

The District Clerk must keep the contents of misdemeanor General Order and Personal Bonds confidential, while their titles, filing dates, and page enumerations remain public.

IT IS HERE BY O RD ERED th at the I larri s County Di stri ct C lerk keep confidential the contents of any General Order Bond (a lso referred to as "GOB") or Personal Bond (" PR Bond") fil ed in mi sdemeanor cri minal cases ass igned to the Harris Coun ty Crimina l Coutts at Law. T he titl e, filin g date, and page enumeration of the fi led Genera l Ord er Bond or Persona l Bond is to rema in viewable to the public.

Criminal cases

General Order and Personal Bonds must remain confidential until the plan to place identifying information on a separate confidential page is implemented; afterward, the Clerk must publish portions without that information.

IT IS FURTH ER ORD ERE D th at General Order Bonds and Personal Bond s are only to be fi led as confidenti a l documents until th e current plan to segregate a defendant 's personal identify ing info rmation to a separate confi dentia l page can be implemented. Once thi s plan is impl emented, the Harri s County D istrict C lerk is ORD ERED to resume the practice of publi shing the porti ons of the Genera l Order Bonds and Personal Bonds that do not contain th e defendant 's personal identify ing information.