Hunt County District Courts
Court-Level Rules, Filing Procedures & Policies
- Rules last changed:
Document Filing Requirements6 rules
a: certificate of service must appear on each motion which indicates the specific addressee and the place, manner and means of service.
- Document
- Motion
Must include
- •Certificate of service
including a certificate of conference on the motion which indicates the fact of the conference and the result thereof
- Document
- Motion
Include
- •Certificate of conference
Except with leave of court, all pleadings must be amended at least thirty (30) days prior to trial.
A "deidentified case record" is a COMPLETE case record with any confidential information redacted.
all parties, including the ad litem for the children, shall file Disclosures required by Texas Rules of Civil Procedure 194.4 and 195.5 no later than 14 days prior to trial.
The Petitioner shall attach a copy of this order to the original petition and to each copy of the petition.
Filing & Service rules
Filing Timing and Cure Windows
TDFPS must provide specified child-related health, treatment, educational, and assessment records to the parties and child attorneys within 10 business days after receipt by a TDFPS agent.
TDFPS shall provide any psychological evaluation; medical information, including all treatment, healthcare operations, psychotherapy notes and protected health information (as defined in HIPAA and the Privacy Act); health history; hospitalization records; tests; outpatient care; educational records which may contain health information; educational information; ARD records; therapy notes; reports; CANS assessments; mental health records; drug, alcohol, or substance abuse records; or other information related to the child(ren) to each party, including but not limited to the Attorney and Guardian Ad Litems for the child(ren) and to the attorney of each Respondent Parent corresponding with that child within ten (10) business days of receipt by any agent of TDFPS.
Page 1 | HEALTH INFORMATION
TDFPS must produce the deidentified case record at least 30 days before trial.
TDFPS shall produce a copy of the deidentified case record no less than thirty (30) days prior to trial.
Page 2 | PRODUCTION
A respondent parent or relevant attorney or guardian ad litem must provide independently held specified records to TDFPS within 10 business days after receipt and provide copies to the other parties.
Any Respondent Parent, Attorney for Respondent Parent, Attorney or Guardian Ad Litem who has independent records of any psychological evaluation; medical information, including all treatment, healthcare operations, psychotherapy notes and protected health information (as defined in HIPAA and the Privacy Act); health history; hospitalization records; tests; outpatient care; educational records which may contain health information; educational information; ARD records; therapy notes; reports; mental health records; drug, alcohol, or substance abuse records; psychosocial evaluation; psychiatric evaluation; attendance records at any service; certifications of completion of services; or other information related to a Respondent Parent or child(ren) shall provide the records to TDFPS for inclusion in the official file held by TDFPS related to the case within ten (10) business days of receipt by the Respondent Parent, Attorney or Guardian Ad Litem and provide a copy to the other parties in the case.
Page 2 | HEALTH INFORMATION
Unless the court grants leave, the pleading-amendment deadline is at least 30 days before trial.
Except with leave of court, all pleadings must be amended at least thirty (30) days prior to trial.
Page 2 | PLEADING DEADLINES
TDFPS must provide specified respondent-parent records to the parties and counsel within 10 business days after receipt by a TDFPS agent.
TDFPS shall provide any psychological evaluation; medical information, including all treatment, healthcare operations, psychotherapy notes and protected health information (as defined in HIPAA and the Privacy Act); health history; hospitalization records; tests; outpatient care; educational records which may contain health information; educational information; ARD records; therapy notes; reports; mental health records; drug, alcohol, or substance abuse records; psychosocial evaluation; psychiatric evaluation; attendance records at any service; certifications of completion of services; or other information related to a Respondent ===== PAGE 2 ===== Parent to each party including but not limited to the attorneys for each Respondent Parent and the Attorney and Guardian Ad Litems for the child(ren) within ten (10) business days of receipt by any agent of TDFPS.
Page 2 | HEALTH INFORMATION
The required disclosures must be filed no later than 14 days before trial.
all parties, including the ad litem for the children, shall file Disclosures required by Texas Rules of Civil Procedure 194.4 and 195.5 no later than 14 days prior to trial.
Page 2 | DISCLOSURE
Within 5 days after temporary orders are entered, a parent must sign a release of specified medical, psychological, psychiatric, treatment, and substance-abuse records to TDFPS.
No more than five (5) days following the entry of temporary orders, a parent shall sign a release of information for all medical, psychological, or psychiatric records, and for all treatment records, including but not limited to records related to drug and/or alcohol abuse to TDFPS.
Page 2 | PRODUCTION
A party or ad litem receiving formal notice of a child’s Native status, or lack thereof, must file the notice with the court within five business days and simultaneously provide copies to all parties.
IT IS ORDERED that any party or ad !item receiving formal notice of the Native status (or the lack thereof) of the child(ren) as defined by the Indian Child Welfare Act (25 U.S .C. 1902) shall file such notice with the court within five business days of receipt, and shall simultaneously provide copies of the same to all parties.
Page 6 | INFORMATION REGARING HERITAGE UNDER THE INDIAN CHILD WELFARE ACT
Service and Proof of Service Rules
Each side must provide a written list of trial expert witnesses, including each expert's name and address, and serve it no later than 21 days before jury selection unless good cause is shown.
Each side shall disclose to the other each person that a party may use at trial to present expert testimony under Rules 702, 703 9r 705 of the Texas Rules of Evidence. Such disclosure shall be in writing and include at a minimum the name and address of such expert. Disclosures shall be served upon the other party not later than twenty one ·(21) days prior to the commencement of jury selection, except upon good cause shown.
Criminal cases
Page 5 | EXPERT WITNESSES
All parties who do not have an attorney shall maintain a current address and a current email address on file with the District Clerk of Hunt County, Texas.
All parties who do not have an attorney shall maintain a current address and a current email address on file with the District Clerk of Hunt County, Texas.
Page 3 | SERVICE
Pro se parties must maintain current address and email information on file with the District Clerk of Hunt County, Texas.
All parties who do not have an attorney shall maintain a current address and a current email address on file with the District Clerk of Hunt County, Texas.
Page 4 | SERVICE
Notice to a pro se party may be made in open court, through the District Clerk's electronic filing system, by personal service, or by both certified mail and first-class mail to the address on file.
Pursuant to the Texas Rules of Civil Procedure, a notice to a pro se party may be made by notice in open court, through the electronic filing system in use by the District Clerk of Hunt County, or personal service, or service to the current address on file with the District Clerk by sending notice by both certified mail and first-class mail.
Page 3 | SERVICE
Notice to a pro se party may be made in open court, through the District Clerk's electronic filing system, by personal service, or by sending notice to the address on file by both certified mail and first-class mail.
Pursuant to the Texas Rules of Civil Procedure, a notice to a pro se party may be made by notice in open court, through the electronic filing system in use by the District Clerk of Hunt County, or personal service, or service to the current address on file with the District Clerk by sending notice by both certified mail and first-class mail.
Page 4 | SERVICE
Sealing & Redaction Procedures
Documents produced during discovery must be redacted to remove placement identification information, including names, addresses, and phone numbers.
Any document(s) produced during discovery by the Department or by any party or ad litem for the child(ren) shall be redacted to remove any and all placement identification information from any such document(s), including but not limited to name(s), address and phone number.
Page 3 | DISCOVERY
DFPS must produce a complete case record with confidential information redacted no less than 30 days before trial.
DFPS shall produce a copy of the deidentified case record no less than thirty (30) days prior to trial. A "deidentified case record" is a COMPLETE case record with any confidential information redacted.
Page 3 | DISCOVERY
Pre-Motion Conference Requirements
Counsel must confer with opposing counsel and attempt to resolve the matter before filing any motion.
no motion may be filed without first conferring with opposing counsel and attempting to resolve the matter
Criminal cases
Page 2 | ORDER REGARDING MOTIONS
A discovery motion may be filed only after the defense obtains discovery and reasonably believes materials remain missing, or after the State fails to provide discovery within a reasonable time following indictment.
The State has an "open file" policy, and a discovery motion may be filed only after the defense has. obtained discovery from the state and.has.a reasonable basis to believe. that there are discovery materials not yet received from the State, or if the State has failed to furnish discovery to the defense pursuant to CCP 39.14 within a reasonable time after indictment.
Criminal cases
Page 2 | ORDER REGARDING MOTIONS
Defense counsel may seek discovery by motion when counsel reasonably believes the local rules and Standing Order do not address the discovery need.
should there be a discovery matter to which defense counsel reasonably believes that the local rules and this Standing Order are not responsive, and for which the defense needs to obtain discovery, defense counsel may file a motion to obtain such discovery.
Criminal cases
Page 2 | ORDER REGARDING MOTIONS
The Court will not consider a Brady-violation or discovery-sanction motion filed before trial or compensate an attorney for it.
The Court will not consider any "Brady violation" or "discovery sanction" motion rtled prior to the commencement of trial, and will not compensate any attorney for such · motion.
Criminal cases
Page 2 | ORDER REGARDING MOTIONS
The Court will disregard repetitive discovery motions, and appointed counsel will not be compensated for preparing or presenting them.
The Court will not consider discovery motions which are repetitive of local rules or of this Standing Order, and court appointed counsel will. not be compensated for the preparation or presentation of such m·otion.
Criminal cases
Page 2 | ORDER REGARDING MOTIONS
A Rule 705(b) expert-examination motion will generally be heard at trial, but a party anticipating an examination lasting more than one hour must notify the Court so an additional pretrial hearing may be scheduled.
Any motion under T.R.E. 705(b) for voir dire of an expert prior to testimony will generally be taken up at the time of trial in such a manner. as to not unduly waste the time of the jury. However, if either party anticipates that an extensive Rule 705(b) examination will be required (more than one hour) such shall be made known to the Court so that an additional pre-trial hearing can be scheduled for this purpose.
Criminal cases
Page 5 | EXPERT WITNESSES