This section sets where the First Court of Appeals sits, how Harris County and other counties share court-related costs, and how cases and court business are assigned or managed.
Sec. 22.202. FIRST COURT OF APPEALS. (a) The Court of Appeals for the First Court of Appeals District shall be held in the City of Houston. (b) Harris County shall furnish and equip suitable rooms in Houston for the court and the justices without expense to the state. (c) The counties other than Harris County composing the First and Fourteenth Courts of Appeals Districts shall annually reimburse Harris County for the costs incurred by Harris County during its previous fiscal year for: (1) supplemental salaries and fringe benefits for the justices for those courts; and (2) furnishings, equipment, supplies, and utility expenses for those courts. (d) Each county shall pay a share based on the proportion its population bears to the total population of all the counties in those districts. A county shall pay its share not later than the 60th day after the beginning of the county's fiscal year. (e) The Commissioners Court of Harris County shall provide each county liable for the expenses with a statement of that county's share. The statement must be approved by the chief justices of the courts of appeals of the First and Fourteenth Courts of Appeals Districts. (f) The First and Fourteenth Courts of Appeals shall establish a central clerk's office and offices for justices and other support personnel in Houston. The courts may establish offices for the clerks, justices, and other support personnel in other counties in the courts' district as each court determines necessary and convenient. (g) The First Court of Appeals may transact its business in any county in the First Court of Appeals District as the court determines necessary and convenient. (h) All civil and criminal cases directed to the First or Fourteenth Court of Appeals shall be filed in either the First or Fourteenth Court of Appeals as provided by this section. The trial clerk shall write the numbers of the two courts of appeals on identical slips of paper and place the slips in a container. When a notice of appeal or appeal bond is filed, the trial court clerk shall draw a number from the container at random, in a public place, and shall assign the case and any companion cases to the court of appeals for the corresponding number drawn. (i) Subject to Subchapter A, Chapter 73, the clerks of the First and the Fourteenth Courts of Appeals Districts may from time to time equalize the dockets of the two courts by transferring cases from one court to the other. The court to which the case is transferred has jurisdiction over the matter. (j) Each of the justices on the court of appeals shall designate the county of his permanent residence on the records of the court in which the justice serves. The county of a justice's permanent residence is the justice's permanent post of duty. (j-1) Expired. Acts 1985, 69th Leg., ch. 480, Sec. 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1985. Amended by Acts 1987, 70th Leg., ch. 148, Sec. 1.03 to 1.07, eff. Sept. 1, 1987.