Justice Court Pct. 1 Rules and Procedures for E-Court Hearings/Trials

The following restrictions and limitations will apply to any E-Court Hearings/Trials. In some instances, a case is not appropriate for a remote hearing; therefore, those cases will be postponed and rescheduled accordingly.

PROCEDURES FOR E-COURT HEARINGS/TRIALS

Tarrant County Justice Court Pct. 1 will be using Zoom video conferencing. It is free to download at zoom.us or download the app directly to your smartphone. To participate, the Court must have your email address no later than noon on the last business day before the hearing. An E-Court Hearing/Trial requires that your email address be shared with the other party. This is to facilitate sharing of exhibits prior to hearing/trials. Your computer must have internet access, a video camera, and a microphone. You can find your login information in the attached setting letter or email.

• Exhibits must be emailed to all parties and E-Filed to the Court by no later than 3 business days before the Hearing/Trial. The Court will address any objections to exhibits at Hearing/Trial. 
  • You can e-file your documents by clicking here to EFile your documents online.
    
  • Note: Your documents must be legible and in .pdf format.

The Court may not consider any exhibits not emailed to the Court in a timely manner. If you fail to follow the exhibit requirement, these exhibits may not be considered during E-Hearing/E-Trial.

• Witnesses MUST appear by video conferencing. Parties calling a witness are responsible for ensuring that a witness has a separate video and audio feed, or all those present are clearly visible and can be heard if the video feed is shared. All witnesses should be prepared to present a valid form of identification to verify their identity to the Court over the video feed. It is the responsibility of the party offering the witness to ensure that the witness has the link to the proceedings and that all exhibits are available to the witness, including those of opposing parties.

• Motions for continuance should be filed by e-file (preferred) or email no later than two days before your scheduled trial date and must be in writing, served on the opposing party, and may be granted or denied at the discretion of the Court.

• Before your court date, you may want to familiarize yourself with any applicable laws and rules applicable to justice courts as well as "local rules of the court" for justice courts in Tarrant County. Click here to view the Court's Local Rules.
  

• Attention to Non-English-speaking parties: If needed, it may be your responsibility to provide a certified interpreter.

FOR THE PUBLIC: The open Court's provision of Texas law allows all Texans access to court proceedings. As such, anyone may call the Court at 817-884-1395 to get access codes to E-Hearing/E-Trial. If you are viewing, please mute your connection to prevent disruption to the proceedings. The public may view or listen to proceedings, but video or audio recording of any kind is prohibited.