Presiding judges must maintain and divide a list of eligible retired and former judges, and those judges may only be assigned within their specialty.
Sec. 74.055. LIST OF RETIRED AND FORMER JUDGES SUBJECT TO ASSIGNMENT. (a) Each presiding judge shall maintain a list of retired and former judges who meet the requirements of this section. (b) The presiding judge shall divide the list into area specialties of criminal, civil, or domestic relations cases. A retired or former judge may only be assigned to a case in the judge's area of specialty. A judge may qualify for assignment in more than one area of specialty. (c) To be eligible to be named on the list, a retired or former judge must: (1) have served as an active judge for at least 72 months in a district court, a statutory probate court, a statutory county court, an appellate court, or the business court; (2) have developed substantial experience in the judge's area of specialty; (3) not have been removed from office; (4) certify under oath to the presiding judge, on a form prescribed by the state board of regional judges, that: (A) the judge has never been publicly reprimanded or censured by the State Commission on Judicial Conduct, excluding any reprimand or censure reviewed and rescinded by a special court of review under Section 33.034; (B) the judge has not received more than one of any other type of public sanction, excluding any sanction reviewed and rescinded by a special court of review under Section 33.034; and (C) the judge: (i) did not resign or retire from office after the State Commission on Judicial Conduct notified the judge of the commencement of a full investigation into an allegation or appearance of misconduct or disability of the judge as provided in Section 33.022 and before the final disposition of that investigation; or (ii) if the judge did resign from office under circumstances described by Subparagraph (i), was not publicly reprimanded or censured as a result of the investigation; (5) annually demonstrate that the judge has completed in the past state fiscal year the educational requirements for active district, business, statutory probate, and statutory county court judges; (6) certify to the presiding judge a willingness not to appear and plead as an attorney in any court in the administrative judicial region in which the judge is assigned for a period of two years; and (7) certify to the presiding judge a willingness not to hear any matter involving a party who is a current or former client of the judge for the duration of the assignment. (d) Repealed by Acts 2003, 78th Leg., ch. 315, Sec. 15. (e) For purposes of Subsection (c)(1), a month of service is calculated as a calendar month or a portion of a calendar month in which a judge was authorized by election or appointment to preside. (f) A former or retired judge is ineligible to be named on the list if the former or retired judge is identified in a public statement issued by the State Commission on Judicial Conduct as having resigned or retired from office in lieu of discipline. (g) A former or retired judge named on the list shall immediately notify the presiding judge of a full investigation by the State Commission on Judicial Conduct into an allegation or appearance of misconduct or disability by the judge. A judge who does not notify the presiding judge of an investigation as required by this subsection is ineligible to remain on the list. Added by Acts 1987, 70th Leg., ch. 674, Sec. 2.10, eff. Sept. 1, 1987. Amended by Acts 1989, 71st Leg., ch. 2, Sec. 8.38, eff. Aug. 28, 1989; Acts 1989, 71st Leg., ch. 82, Sec. 2, eff. Aug. 28, 1989; Acts 1989, 71st Leg., ch. 646, Sec. 8, eff. Aug. 28, 1989; Acts 1991, 72nd Leg., ch. 16, Sec. 8.05, eff. Aug. 26, 1991; Acts 1991, 72nd Leg., ch. 785, Sec. 3 to 5, eff. June 16, 1991; Acts 1995, 74th Leg., ch. 298, Sec. 4, eff. Sept. 1, 1995; Acts 2003, 78th Leg., ch. 315, Sec. 12, 15, eff. Sept. 1, 2003. Amended by: Acts 2025, 89th Leg., R.S., Ch. 912 (H.B. 40), Sec. 65, eff. September 1, 2025. Acts 2025, 89th Leg., R.S., Ch. 1130 (S.B. 293), Sec. 16, eff. September 1, 2025. Acts 2025, 89th Leg., R.S., Ch. 1151 (S.B. 2127), Sec. 3, eff. September 1, 2025.