Tex. Government Code § 24.012
This is the official text of Tex. Government Code § 24.012, part of Texas’s Government Code — covers the structure and operation of Texas state and local government.
Not legal advice. This page reproduces the official text of a government statute for reference only. Laws change, and how a statute applies depends on your specific facts. For advice about your situation, consult a licensed attorney in your state.
§ 24.012. TERMS AND SESSIONS OF COURT.
Official statutory text
(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.
(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.
Status: in_force · Read it on the official government site
Need a lawyer in Texas?
Find a Texas lawyer
About this page: Statute text is reproduced from official government publishers via the
Open US Law dataset
(Vaquill AI, snapshot v2026.08, CC BY 4.0). Primary legislative text like this is public domain under the government-edicts doctrine
(Georgia v. Public.Resource.Org, 2020). We link every section back to its official source so you can verify it independently.