306^th District Court Policies and Procedures

JUDGE EMILY A. FISHER

Presiding

UNCONTESTED CASES

Parties with Attorneys:

All uncontested cases such as divorces, modifications, suit affecting parent-child relationships, parentage and name changes will be proven up by an Affidavit of Facts without the necessity of a live hearing unless it is ordered by the Court.

No final orders will be signed (with the exception of modifications) unless an Affidavit or Declaration of Facts has been filed. 

No uncontested hearings will be allowed unless scheduled ahead of time.

Adoption prove-ups must be in-person. 

Self-Represented Parties:

The Petitioner (unless the Respondent has a counter-petition on file in the case, then the Respondent may appear) must appear in person to prove up an uncontested matter.  These matters are heard on Wednesdays and Fridays at 8:30 a.m.  The matters must be scheduled in advance through the Friend of the Court and the Court Coordinator.

All Pleadings must be E-Filed.

All discovery disputes will be held in Associate Judge Jana Hartnett’s Court.

All requests for discovery hearings must have a Certificate of Conference as part of the pleadings.

All cases filed in the 306^th District Court will be given a Status Conference Date.  That date will be approximately 120 days from the date of filing.  The Attorney or Self-represented party must appear in person for the Status Conference to apprise the court of the status and trial readiness of the case, unless the parties have agreed to a trial date and a Docket Control Order prior to the Status Conference. Service on the other party must be completed prior to the Status Conference, unless there is good cause shown.

Click this link for the form:  DOCKET CONTROL ORDER – Non Jury or DOCKET CONTROL ORDER – Jury Trial.

If an Agreement is Expected

If the parties are close to an agreement or working on a reconciliation, the Status Conference may be re-set for up to 60 days.

If the case is not resolved or dismissed by that time, a Docket Control Order must be entered.

If Litigation is Necessary

The following information MUST be provided in all Status Reports/Letters:

1. All Parties’ and attorneys’ names and email addresses
2. Contested issues, (Custody, visitation, property, etc.)
3. Suggested week/month for trial setting,
4. Hours/days needed for trial
5. Any vacation letters or conflicts for scheduling
6. Whether mediation for Final Orders has been completed
7. Jury or Bench Trial

Mediation is mandatory before any final trial on the merits.  Any party who does NOT cooperate with scheduling and/or attending mediation will be sanctioned and/or ordered to pay attorneys’ fees.  Upon motion and hearing, mediation may be waived by the Judge in unusual circumstances such as minimal or no property, family assault charges, incarceration of one of the parties, etc.

If the Parties appear for Pre-trial without proof of mediation or with proof that mediation is scheduled, then mediation will be ORDERED immediately with an on-site mediator from the court’s mediator list. 

Mediation is no longer required prior to hearing on Temporary Orders; however, it may be requested or agreed between the parties.

Mediation is required prior to a De Novo hearing, unless mediation occurred prior to the Temporary Orders hearing.

Orders for Subsidized Mediation must be signed before the end of the day in which the Mediation occurred.  Motion for Subsidized Mediation must be E-Filed.  Contact the court if your motion has been filed and the order cannot be found on the District Clerk’s website.  We will assist you in determining the status of the order.

A Mediator WILL be appointed when a Docket Control Order is entered.  The parties may subsequently agree to another mediator; but those mediation costs will NOT be subsidized for either party.

All Temporary Hearings shall be held in the Lerner Court before the Associate Judge, on the Third floor of the courthouse, 600 – 59^th Street, Galveston, Texas, at the opposite end of the hall from the 306^th Courtroom.

All Temporary Hearings are scheduled at 9:00 a.m. and 1:30 p.m.  A docket will be called promptly at 9:00 a.m. and 1:30 p.m. and any litigants not present at that docket call may have a default entered against them or will forfeit their setting.

Parties shall come to hearings with the following information along with copies for the opposing parties:

In Divorce cases:

Tax returns with all accompanying W-2s, pay stubs and income information for employed persons

Tax returns, with all accompanying 1099s; current profit and loss statements for companies of the self-employed person; and a current balance sheet for any companies owned by self-employed persons

Financial Information Statement listing all monthly income and all monthly expenses (The form provided on this Website may be used or any other format which shows the party’s monthly income and expenses).

Failure to bring these documents to court, may result in the hearing being re-set upon request of opposing party.

In Temporary Hearings in which there is a motion for the Judge to confer with the child, the child must be brought to the court at the time of the hearing.

In Modifications and Suits involving Children:

Tax returns with all accompanying W-2s, pay stubs and income information for employed persons

Tax returns, with all accompanying 1099s; current profit and loss statements for companies of the self-employed person; and a current balance sheet for any companies owned by self-employed persons

Failure to bring these documents to court, may result in the hearing being re-set upon request of opposing party.

In Temporary Hearings in which there is a motion for the Judge to confer with the child, the child must be brought to the court at the time of the hearing.

Mediation is mandatory before any De Novo hearing unless mediation occurred before the temporary orders or otherwise ordered by the court. 

The court will designate the mediator for the De Novo hearing if mediation is required, unless the parties agree on the mediator.

Any party who does not cooperate in scheduling and attending a mediation will be sanctioned.

All PARENTS must attend a Parenting class prior to any contested final hearing regarding custody, possession, access, geographic restriction or permanent injunctions.  Parenting class is not required in child support disputes.  If a Parent has attended a parenting class within the last five years, attendance is waived. 

Withdrawals of Representation as Attorney of Record will be allowed in most instances.  If the Motion to Withdrawal is agreed by all parties and the client with signatures on the motion or order, no hearing is necessary.

If the Motion for Withdrawal is not signed by all, a hearing will be set by submission or in person.

Attorney shall notice the client by certified mail, return receipt requested and regular mail as provided by the rules.  Additionally, the attorney may notice the client by email provided that there is proof that the client’s prior address is no longer valid and the attorney does not know how to contact the client.  Proof shall be required that the email address used to notice the client has been regularly used between the Attorney and client.

All final hearings begin at 9:00 a.m. or 1:30 p.m. unless notified otherwise by the court.

All opposing parties must be served AND notified by certified mail, return receipt requested (and regular mail) of any default hearing a party wishes to obtain.  The green card or a track and receive statement from the U.S. Postal Service must be provided. 

E-Mail notifications are not sufficient notice for a default unless approved in advance by the court or in the event that email was the method of service by Rule 106 or other substituted service.  The notice must be by U.S. Postal Service or by personal service by process server.

Pre-Trials shall be held two Fridays before the week of the trial at 10:00 a.m.

Attendance at pretrial is MANDADORY.  Failure to appear at pretrial could affect your trial setting. 

The following shall be produced at the Pre-trial conference.

1. Proof of Mediation
2. Parenting Class Certificate of Attendance.

At the pretrial, the parties will be given a deadline to supplement exhibits and tender objections to exhibits to opposing party.  The deadline is usually as follows:

            1.  Wednesday, 5:00 p.m. preceding the trial:  All exhibits must be tendered to opposing party.

            2. Friday, 5:00 p.m. preceding the trial:  All objections to exhibits based upon discovery, relevance or technical admissibility challenges.

Unopposed Continuances

In most cases, with written agreement by all parties, cases may be continued once.  A Motion for Continuance with all signatures must be e-filed before it will be considered. The parties shall contact the Court Coordinator prior to filing to agree on a new date before the continuance will be granted. 

After the first continuance, there must be a hearing before the court will allow another continuance unless there are exigent circumstances.

Parties may appear together and confer with the Judge regarding any continuance.  (Remember, ALL Counsel/Self-Represented Parties must be present or the moving party must provide proof that all parties were notified).

Continuance hearings will be held in front Judge Fisher on Friday mornings at 8:30 a.m. or at the Pre-Trial Conference.

Continuances Not Agreed Upon by All Parties

Continuance hearings will be held in front Judge Fisher on Friday mornings at 8:30 a.m.  The party requesting the continuance must notify all other parties of the hearing date. 

COMMUNICATING WITH THE COURT

Communication with the court on settings, follow-up on pleadings, checking on the status of signatures on Temporary Restraining Orders, or procedural questions that are out of the ordinary should primarily be addressed by email to the court coordinator at 306thjdc@galvestoncountytx.gov.

Emails are checked regularly throughout the day and will be replied promptly.

When sending an email regarding a case, be sure to put the cause number in the email header.  A case without a cause number in the header may be disregarded due to the court’s inability to recognized the case to which it refers.    All correspondence by email must be copied to all parties and must state that all parties have been copied.