Hays County Courts at Law Document Filing Requirements

CRITICALCivil cases

Applies to

Motion to withdraw

A motion to withdraw must be accompanied by a motion to substitute counsel; withdrawal without substitution will not be granted absent good cause and compliance with the cited rules.

Any Motion to Withdraw as Counsel shall be accompanied by a Motion to Substitute Counsel. Withdrawals without substitution will not be granted absent good cause shown and in accordance with the Texas Rule of Civil Procedure 10 and the Texas Disciplinary Rules of Professional Conduct.

CRITICALCriminal cases

Applies to

Jury instructions

Counsel may propose changes to pattern charges only when the changes are supported by binding precedent or applicable statutory authority.

Counsel may propose modifications, additions, or deletions to the pattern charges, provided that such changes are supported by binding precedent or applicable statutory authority.

CRITICAL

Applies to

Notice of setting

Must include

certificate of conference

Every notice of setting must include a certificate confirming either that the parties agreed on the setting or that they could not reach agreement despite efforts to confer.

Every notice of setting must include a certificate of conference confirming either: NOTICE OF AGREED SETTING AND CERTIFICATE OF CONFERENCE I, the undersigned attorney, hereby certify that I conferred with all parties, regarding the date and time of this hearing. The parties have agreed that the hearing will be set on [Date] at [Time] and that the time announcement is [amount of time]. OR NOTICE OF SETTING WITHOUT AGREEMENT AND CERTIFICATE OF CONFERENCE I, the undersigned attorney, hereby certify that I conferred with all parties, regarding the date and time of this hearing. Despite our efforts, the parties were unable to reach an agreement, necessitating my setting this hearing without agreement on [Date] at [Time] and that the time announcement is [amount of time].

CRITICAL

Applies to

Certificate of contact

Appointed counsel need not file a letter of representation but must file a certificate of contact with the Indigent Defense Counsel Office within ten business days after receiving notice of appointment.

(b) Appointed. An attorney who the Court appoints to represent a defendant need not file a letter of representation but shall file a certificate of contact with the Indigent Defense Counsel Office within ten (10) business days of that attorney’s receiving notice of an appointment.

CRITICAL

Applies to

Proposed order

The Clerk will reject a proposed order unless the party previously filed a motion requesting the relief stated in it.

However, the Clerk will reject any proposed order for which a party has not previously filed a motion requesting the relief stated in the proposed order.

CRITICAL

Applies to

Order or judgment

An attorney may not revise or add language to an existing order or judgment to correct clerical mistakes.

(b) Prohibition Against Use of Existing Order. Not under any circumstance whatsoever may an attorney use the existing order or judgment by revising or adding language to the existing order or judgment to correct any clerical mistakes.

CRITICAL

Every request, motion, setting request, or application for a remote hearing must include a copy of this Administrative Order.

A copy of this Administrative Order SHALL BE ATTACHED to every request, motion, setting request, or application for a remote hearing submitted to the Court as an explicit acknowledgement of the prohibition against unauthorized recording.

CRITICAL

Applies to

Request for ex parte relief

Must include

proposed order

An ex parte relief request must include a relevant pleading or motion and a proposed order.

Parties seeking ex parte relief from the Court shall e-file a relevant pleading or motion and a proposed order and then contact the Court Coordinators to request that the pleading or motion for ex parte relief be brought to the attention of the Court.

CRITICALCivil cases

Applies to

Guardianship transfer

Letters of guardianship may not issue and a transfer may not be finalized until the Court receives and reviews satisfactory background-check results.

No letters of guardianship shall be issued and no transfer shall be finalized until the Court has received and reviewed satisfactory results from the background checks.

CRITICAL

Applies to

Probate setting prerequisite documents

The listed probate documents must be e-filed before the party requests a setting on a request for relief.

In addition to complying with the e-filing requirements of Section 9.01(a) of these Rules, before the party requesting a setting on a request for relief, that party must e-file the following: (1) The will and any codicil of the decedent; (2) The death certificate of the decedent, with the social security number redacted; (3) Any proof of publication; (4) Any waivers of citations, consents, or notices; (6) An unexecuted Proof of Death and Other Facts; (7) Any unexecuted Statement of Facts; and (8) All proposed orders and judgments.

CRITICALCivil cases

Applies to

Proposed order

Each proposed order must identify the specific motion, pleading, or request to which it pertains.

All proposed orders that counsel submits to the Courts shall: a) Reference the specific motion, pleading, or request to which the proposed order pertains,

CRITICAL

Applies to

Proposed order

Every proposed order submitted for consideration and signature must include a copy of this Administrative Order.

A copy of this Administrative Order SHALL BE ATTACHED to every proposed order submitted to the Court for consideration and signature.

CRITICALCivil cases

Applies to

Joint statement of stipulated facts

The Joint Statement of Stipulated Facts must separately list agreed material facts and disputed material factual issues.

The Joint Statement shall be divided into two parts: 1. Agreed Facts - a list of material facts not in dispute; and ii. Disputed Facts - a list of material factual issues the parties contend are genuinely in dispute for trial.

CRITICALCivil cases

Applies to

Criminal background check

The background check must comply with the Texas Estates Code and be submitted within the time set by order.

The background check shall be obtained in accordance with the requirements of the Texas Estates Code and submitted to the Court within the time specified by order, and no guardianship shall be accepted, confirmed, or letters issued until compliance with this requirement is established.

CRITICAL

Applies to

Letter of representation

A defendant’s first retained attorney must file a letter of representation with the Clerk within five business days after being retained.

(a) Retained. The first attorney that a defendant retains shall file a letter of representation with the Clerk of the Court within five (5) business days of the date the defendant retains that attorney.

CRITICALCivil cases

Applies to

Remote appearance motion or objection

Motions for leave to appear remotely and objections to remote appearance must show good cause.

Motions for Leave or Objections to remote appearance must show good cause.

CRITICALCivil cases

Applies to

Response to contested issues

Responses must explain each disagreement and identify the nature of the dispute without revealing trial strategy.

Each party will respond with the reasons that the party did not agree on each disputed fact on the other party's list of disputed facts by this date. The Court is not asking parties to reveal their trial strategy. Rather, the Court is requesting parties to identify the nature of the dispute, e.g., "Conflicting Evidence: testimony of witness X contravenes the testimony of witness Y," "Dispute over the Applicable Law: Section 123.13 of the Texas XYZ, Code does not apply to structures built before 1950, and structure was built in 1949."

CRITICALCivil cases

Applies to

Annual guardianship account

Guardians must timely file annual accounts as required by Section 1163.001 of the Texas Estates Code.

b) Annual Accounts: Guardians shall timely file annual accounts as required by Section 1163.001 of the Texas Estates Code.

CRITICALCivil cases

Applies to

Proposed order

A proposed order must be designated in the electronic filing system by a precise title describing the relief sought.

The proposed order must be properly designated in the electronic filing system using the precise document title describing the relief sought (e.g., "Proposed Order Admitting Will to Probate and for Letters Testamentary," "Proposed Order Determining Heirship," or "Proposed Order Appointing Guardian of the Person").

CRITICAL

Applies to

Pretrial motion

Must include

proposed order

Counsel must provide a separate proposed order for each pretrial motion with the proper cause number and case style, unless the Court has already approved the order’s form.

For each pretrial motion, counsel must provide, by a separate document, a proposed order with the proper cause number and style of the Case, unless the Court has given prior approval of the form of the order.

CRITICAL

Applies to

Proposed notice of setting

A proposed notice of setting must estimate the total time for the entire hearing or trial, including reading time and, for jury trials, all specified trial phases.

(2) Contents of Proposed Notice of Setting. Each request for a setting, which a party is to submit to the Court Coordinators as a proposed notice of setting, must include an estimate of the total amount of time required for the entire hearing or trial, on all matters, for all participants, including the time necessary to read any materials presented. For jury trials, the total announced time must include time for consideration of all pretrial motions, voir dire, opening statements, evidence, charge conference, closing argument, and jury deliberation. Also note that a half-day hearing usually includes a break, and a full-day hearing includes breaks in the morning and afternoon as well as a lunch break. Therefore, a half-day hearing generally provides fewer than three hours, and a full-day hearing generally provides fewer than six hours.

CRITICALCivil cases

Applies to

Fact witness list

Fact witness lists must include contact information and the subject matter of each witness’s testimony.

FACT WITNESS LISTS: Exchange with contact info and subject matter.

CRITICAL

Applies to

Order or judgment

All attorneys of record and self-represented litigants must approve orders and judgments as to form, which must contain full signature blocks for them.

All attorneys of record and any self-represented litigants must approve all orders and judgments as to form and contain full signature blocks for all attorneys of record and any self-represented litigants.

CRITICAL

Applies to

Notice of setting

The written notice of setting must state the hearing or trial date and time and the total time requested for all participants.

The party that obtained a setting for a hearing or trial date must give written notice to all other parties and attorneys of: (A) the hearing or trial date and time, and (B) the total time requested for the entire hearing or trial for all participants

CRITICAL

Applies to

Jury trial request

Before requesting a jury-trial setting, the requesting party must file the required written jury-trial request.

Before requesting a setting for a jury trial, the party requesting the jury trial must file the required written request for a jury trial and must pay the jury fee in compliance with the Texas Rules of Civil Procedure 216 and any other applicable law.

CRITICALCriminal cases

Applies to

Jury instructions

Proposed charges, including deviations from pattern language, must be submitted to the Court by the morning of the last day of trial unless otherwise ordered.

Proposed charges (including any deviation from pattern language) shall be submitted to the Court no later than the morning of the last day of trial unless otherwise ordered.

CRITICALCivil cases

The Court will not approve letters or finalize a transfer until it receives and reviews satisfactory background-check results.

The Courts will not approve the issuance of any letters of guardianship, and the Courts will not finalize any transfer until the Court has received and reviewed results from the background checks and found those results to be satisfactory.

CRITICALCivil cases

Applies to

Contested pretrial matter

Must include

certificate of conference

Contested pretrial matters require a certificate of conference confirming reasonable efforts to resolve disputes before court intervention.

Certificates of Conference are required for all contested pretrial matters under TRCP 191.2, confirming reasonable efforts to resolve disputes before court intervention.

CRITICAL

Applies to

Motion to withdraw

Before the case is disposed of, counsel seeking to withdraw without substitution must file a written motion with the Clerk and appear before the Court with the defendant to address it.

(a) Written Motion to Withdraw without Substitution; Appearance. If, prior to the disposition of the Case, an appointed or retained counsel has reason to withdraw without substitution, the attorney must file a written motion to withdraw with the Clerk of the Court and appear before the Court with the defendant to address the motion.

CRITICALCivil cases

Applies to

Pretrial exchange

The pre-trial exchange must include numbered trial exhibits, a cross-referenced exhibit list with descriptions, designated deposition excerpts, and an ordered witness list with direct-testimony time estimates, subject to the stated exceptions.

The parties are to provide the Court and all other parties, with: 1. Exhibits that the party intends to offer at trial with exhibit numbers (except for exhibits that a party may use for impeachment or rebuttal); 2. Exhibits list cross-referenced to each exhibit with a description of the exhibit; 3. Deposition excerpts (the party will identify each deposition that the party intends to offer at trial, by video or otherwise, and designate the page and line numbers of those portions the party intends to offer at trial), and 4. A list of the witnesses that the party intends to call at trial (except for witnesses that a party may use for impeachment or rebuttal) in the order in which the party intends to call those witnesses and an estimate of time for each witness' direct testimony.

CRITICAL

Applies to

Hearing setting request

Must include

certificate of conference

A certificate must confirm that the parties attempted to confer about the setting date, time, and hearing duration, but they need not agree; Court Coordinators may set the hearing with the requesting party if agreement is not reached.

(4) Agreement Not Required. The requirement of a certificate of conference confirming that the parties have attempted to confer about the date and time of a setting and time required for the hearing is not a requirement that the parties must agree on the date and time of setting. If a party desiring a setting for a hearing is unable to reach an agreement with the other parties, the Court Coordinators may set a hearing in coordination with the party desiring a hearing.

WARNING

Applies to

Motion to close

To transfer a guardianship out of Hays County, first determine whether the other state accepts the transfer; if it does not, establish a new guardianship there and then file a Hays County motion to close that includes the other case’s cause number.

If a party desires to transfer a guardianship case from Hays County to another state, first determine if the transferee state accepts the transfer of a guardianship. If not, establish a new guardianship in that state and then file a motion to close in the guardianship case in Hays County, which includes the cause number of the guardianship in the other state.

WARNING

Applies to

Written order relief counsel

An attorney remains counsel of record until the Court enters a written order relieving the attorney.

An attorney remains the attorney of record until relieved by written order of the Court.

WARNING

A full signature block includes the listed identifying and contact information for the attorney and any self-represented litigant.

(2) A full signature block consists of the attorney’s and any self-represented litigant’s signature, printed name, mailing address, email address, bar number, telephone number, and the identity of the party represented, if applicable.

WARNINGCivil cases

Applies to

Proposed order

If opposing counsel fails or refuses to sign a proposed order, prevailing party counsel should note that on the order.

If counsel for the non-prevailing party fails or refuses to sign the proposed order, then counsel for the prevailing party should note that failure or refusal on the proposed order.

WARNING

Applies to

Notice of setting

Must include

certificate of conference

The Courts and Court Coordinators may strike a setting if its notice or any amendment lacks the required certificates or otherwise fails to comply with the Rules.

The Courts and the Court Coordinators retain discretion to strike any setting in which the notice and any amendment of the notice does not include the above certificates or otherwise comply with these Rules.

WARNING

Applies to

Pretrial hearing reset

An Order to Employ Counsel must accompany the unrepresented defendant’s reset for an additional Pretrial Hearing No. 1.

(d) One Additional Reset for Pro Se Defendants. If a defendant is unrepresented by counsel, then that defendant will be given the option of one reset for an additional Pretrial Hearing No. 1 to retain counsel with an accompanying Order to Employ Counsel.

WARNING

Applies to

Motion to substitute counsel

The Court may approve substitution by submission if the motion or proposed order bears the defendant’s and both attorneys’ signatures and the motion states that new counsel accepts the next setting.

(b) By Agreement. If the motion to substitute or the order approving the substitution has signatures of the defendant and the substituting and the withdrawing, and the motion states that the substituting attorney accepts the Case’s next setting, the Court may sign the order approving substitution by submission.

WARNINGCivil cases

Applies to

Court document

Counsel should proofread their work and verify that documents submitted to the Court comply with Texas Rule of Civil Procedure 13.

All counsel should proofread their work and verify that any document submitted to the Court does not violate Texas Rule of Civil Procedure 13.

WARNING

Applies to

Agreement to reset pretrial hearing

The parties may reset the case for Pretrial Hearing No. 3 by submitting an agreement to the Court Coordinators.

At the conclusion of this hearing, the parties may reset the Case for Pretrial Hearing No. 3 by an agreement submitted to the Court Coordinators.

WARNING

Applies to

Witness list

(2) Witness Lists. Counsel (to the extent they deem their client’s rights will not be jeopardized) must make witness lists available to the Court;

(2) Witness Lists. Counsel (to the extent they deem their client’s rights will not be jeopardized) must make witness lists available to the Court;

WARNING

Applies to

Agreement to reset pretrial hearing

The parties may reset the case for Pretrial Hearing No. 2 by submitting an agreement to the Court Coordinators.

At the conclusion of this hearing, the parties may reset the Case for Pretrial Hearing No. 2 by an agreement submitted to the Court Coordinators.

INFO

Applies to

Proposed order

These Rules do not require a party to present a proposed order to the Court.

These Rules do not require party to present proposed orders to the Court.