The Second Court of Appeals serves twelve counties in the north central Texas area. The court consists of seven Justices and has appellate jurisdiction over appeals arising from district and county courts in 12 counties (see below).
Cases will include all types of civil appeals and all types of criminal appeals, except where the death penalty has been imposed. Death penalty cases are appealed directly to the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals in Austin. The Court also has jurisdiction over original proceedings from those same counties, such as Writs of Mandamus, Injunction, Prohibition and Habeas Corpus.
- Legal Citation:
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Texas Constitution, Article V, Section 6
Texas Government Code Annotated, § 22.201
Revised Docketing Statement. The court has revised its docketing statement to inquire whether the appeal involves any constitutional challenges to a state statute. This revision will assist the court in complying with new section 402.010(b) of the Texas Government Code. The revised docketing statement is available at the Clerk's office or in the Forms tab under the Practice Before the Court heading on the upper right hand side of the Home page.
NOTICE REGARDING CRIMINAL APPEALS Effective September 1, 2011, Texas Rule of Appellate Procedure 50 is abolished so that this court may no longer file petitions for discretionary review. On and after September 1, 2011, PDRs should be filed directly with the Court of Criminal Appeals in accordance with amended rule 68.3(a). Because rule 48.4 regarding notice of the defendant's right to file a PDR remains effective, attorneys must still comply with that rule by forwarding to this court a letter certifying compliance within the time for filing a motion for rehearing. Tex. R. App. P. 48.4. Parties in criminal appeals may continue to file motions for rehearing and motions for rehearing en banc with this court. See generally Tex. R. App. P. 49.
NEW! Motions to Extend – Briefs and Appellate Record. The court has revised its Internal Operating Procedures regarding motions to extend the time to file briefs (see "Internal Operating Procedures [pdf]" under the Practice Before the Court tab on this page). Effective immediately, first brief extension motions requesting thirty days or less—twenty days or less in accelerated appeals—will generally be granted by the clerks' office upon a motion containing a reasonable explanation of the need for an extension. See Tex. R. App. P. 10.5(b)(1)(C). Any requests for additional time will be submitted to the court and will be disfavored unless accompanied by a reasonable explanation of the need for additional time. Likewise, first requests to extend the time to file clerk's and reporter's records requesting thirty days or less––ten days or less in accelerated appeals––will generally be granted by the clerks' office. See Tex. R. App. P. 35.3(c), 37.3(a). Any requests for additional time will be submitted to the court and will be decided on a case-by-case basis.
NEW! Pro Bono Program: If you have filed or wish to file an appeal in a non-criminal case and cannot afford a lawyer, you may be able to obtain the assistance of a volunteer lawyer, free of charge, through a program administered by the State Bar of Texas and the Tarrant County Bar Association's Appellate Section. Information about this program can be found at http://www.tex-app.org/probono-2ndcourt.php or at the Clerk's office front desk. A new section has been added to our Docketing Statement Form to indicate if you wish to request a volunteer lawyer. However, the Second Court of Appeals does not run the program or appoint lawyers to litigants. You must therefore still comply with all applicable deadlines until a volunteer attorney appears in this Court on your behalf.
Notice to Court Reporters, Counsel, and Parties: Because the Office of Court Administration has not yet implemented electronic filing and case management systems statewide or at this court, the Second District Court of Appeals has requested that, until further notice, (1) all reporter's records with exhibit volumes continue to include tabbed divisions between exhibits and (2) any reporter's record filed in a compressed four-per-page format comply with the formatting requirements of former rule 22.1 of the 2003 Uniform Format Manual for Court Reporters and be in a font/characters per inch large enough to read without electronic enhancement. If you have any questions about how to comply with these requests, please contact our Clerk's office.
Hours and Filings:
Documents should be filed with the Court during normal business hours, which are Monday through Friday from 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. In case of an emergency, filings may be made after normal business hours provided counsel coordinates the filing with the Clerk of the Court or with one of the Justices in accordance with rule of appellate procedure 9.2(a)(2). During the Court’s normal business hours, a party can coordinate an after-hours emergency filing by contacting the Clerk of the Court at 817-884-1900 to arrange for a Court staff person to remain in the Clerk’s office for a reasonable time to accept an emergency filing or otherwise process a mandamus or emergency motion. Outside of normal business hours, a party may coordinate the processing of such emergency filings by calling the after-hours number listed in the Court’s recording at 817-884-1900 or in accordance with rule 9.2(a)(2).
Parties may now submit as a courtesy to the court an electronic brief, preferably in searchable .pdf format. Procedures to do so
may be found under the "Local Rules" link under the "Practice Before the Court" section.
To view or print PDF files you must have the Adobe Acrobat® reader. This software may be obtained without charge from Adobe. Download the reader from the Adobe Web site.
Updated: 12-Jan-2012
