About Texas District Courts

    Texas has fourteen Courts of Appeals, which have intermediate appellate jurisdiction in both civil and criminal cases.  The courts may hear civil cases where judgment rendered exceeds $100, exclusive of costs, and other civil proceedings as provided by law; and criminal cases, except post-conviction writs of habeas corpus and cases where the death penalty has been imposed. Death penalty cases are automatically appealed to the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals and bypass this level. 

     Each intermediate court has between three and 13 justices (there are a total of 80); the number is set by statute. The 14th Court of Appeals, based in Houston, has nine justices. All cases are heard by a three-justice panel unless a hearing en banc (all justices) is ordered.

The Texas Legislature determines which counties are assigned to a court, and has shifted counties between courts from time to time to balance the docket. The Gulf Coast area has an enormous share of the docket in Texas courts. As a result, two of the fourteen courts are located in Houston (the 1st and 14th Courts). Both courts have concurrent jurisdiction over the same ten counties (cases assigned between the 1st and the 14th on a random selection basis but may be moved in order to equalize the docket).

The counties served by the 1st and 14th Courts of Appeals are: