Texas Court Records

Texas Court Record Lookup

Texas TX court records are public documents that can be used to establish child custody, collect a judgment, enforce an eviction, or enroll in a treatment program. In Texas, public records such as Texas criminal records, civil and traffic cases are accessible by performing Texas court records search.

Trial courts in Texas

Municipal courts and justice of the peace courts are each located in over 800 places around the state. These courts have overlapping jurisdiction on misdemeanor criminal cases, minor civil cases, and violations of local ordinances. Probate courts have jurisdiction over guardianships, wills, estates, and mental health cases in 10 of the largest metropolitan areas in the state.

There are constitutional county courts in each of the 254 counties in Texas with jurisdiction over class A and B misdemeanor cases as well as some appellate authority over cases from lower courts.

State District Courts

District courts are the general trial courts, located in most counties and metropolitan areas. Mentioned courts try Texas child support filings, criminal felonies, divorces, real property, juvenile, and civil cases with more than $200 in value at stake. In populous areas, these courts may have specialty divisions for family law, juvenile, and civil cases.

Some case information may be searched online through a Texas court record lookup. Juvenile case records and others that contain information about victims of certain crimes may be subject to confidentiality laws and therefore unavailable to the public.

The district and county courts had a combined 552,970 felony cases on their dockets in a recent year, including over 800 capital murder cases.

Appellate courts

The Court of Criminal Appeals is the intermediate appellate court with 14 districts that hears only criminal cases. The supreme court hears only civil and juvenile cases, which can be accessed via Texas court case lookup.

U.S. District Court

Each state has at least one branch of federal court, known as U.S. District Court. These Texas courthouses have jurisdiction over bankruptcy petitions, violations of federal laws, class action suits, and lawsuits that involve several states. Records may be searched online and requested through the clerk of the court where the case was heard. Anyone can access Texas court records online.

Texas Notable Court Cases

Lisa Ann Diaz of Plano, Texas was charged with drowning her two young daughters in 2003 after she also tried to commit suicide. She was found not guilty by reason of insanity and released in 2006 to an outpatient program.

Patsy Ardoin was killed in 2006 when her truck crossed a railroad operated by the Union Pacific Railroad. The following year, the father of her surviving daughter sued the railroad company and they were found at fault and awarded over $8 million to the plaintiff.

In 2016, the Texas Supreme Court ruled that the state's public school financing "'satisfies minimum constitutional requirements." The case was brought by school districts wanting the Supreme Court to force the Legislature to split tax revenues equitably between wealthy and poor school districts. The high court stated that the court cannot make such specific policy decisions, which must be determined by the Legislature.