District courts must hold terms on the stated schedule, and district judges may hold sessions and adopt rules for dispatching business.
Sec. 24.012. TERMS AND SESSIONS OF COURT. (a) Except as provided by Subsections (a-1) and (a-2) and Section 24.0125, notwithstanding any other law, each district court holds in each county in the judicial district terms that commence on the first Mondays in January and July of each year. To the extent of a conflict between this subsection and a specific provision relating to a particular judicial district, this section controls. (a-1) The term of the 47th District Court in Armstrong County begins on the first Monday in January. (a-2) In Harris County each district court holds terms that commence on the first Mondays in February, May, August, and November of each year. (b) Except as otherwise provided by this chapter, the terms of each district, family district, and criminal district court are continuous. Each term begins on a day fixed by law and continues until the day fixed by law for the beginning of the next succeeding term. (c) The commencement of a term of court is not affected by the fact that the first day of the term falls on a legal holiday or the judge is absent from the county on the first day of the term. (d) A district judge may hold as many sessions of court in a county as he considers proper and expedient for the dispatch of business and may adopt rules for that purpose as authorized by the statutes of this state and the Texas Rules of Civil Procedure. (e) A district judge may hear a nonjury matter relating to a civil or criminal case at a correctional facility in the county in which the case is filed or prosecuted if a party to the case or the criminal defendant is confined in the correctional facility. For purposes of this subsection, "correctional facility" has the meaning assigned by Section 1.07, Penal Code. Acts 1985, 69th Leg., ch. 480, Sec. 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1985. Amended by Acts 2001, 77th Leg., ch. 1494, Sec. 1, eff. Sept. 1, 2001. Amended by: Acts 2011, 82nd Leg., 1st C.S., Ch. 3 (H.B. 79), Sec. 3.03, eff. January 1, 2012. Acts 2013, 83rd Leg., R.S., Ch. 1081 (H.B. 3378), Sec. 1, eff. September 1, 2013. Acts 2017, 85th Leg., R.S., Ch. 1082 (H.B. 3481), Sec. 1, eff. September 1, 2017. Acts 2019, 86th Leg., R.S., Ch. 507 (S.B. 40), Sec. 2, eff. June 7, 2019.